What does “Woman UP” mean?
I get asked that question a lot.
First, let me tell you what it doesn’t mean: It’s not intended to be an imperative so much as an invitation to use all the bells and whistles that come with a fully developed, fully functioning female adult brain, instead of continuing to rely on the old patterns of thinking and behaving based on belief systems that we inherited back when we were little girls with literally half a brain and without the full capacity for discernment, judgment, reasoning, decision-making and self-actualization.
In other words… without the wherewithal to question what we were being taught to believe about ourselves, the world, and our place in it.
Woman UP doesn’t mean to “grow a pair.” It’s not a challenge to prove yourself in any way whatsoever. Neither testicular fortitude nor its ovarian equivalent is being measured here.
Instead, we’re talking about a particular state of mind that translates into a state of being where a woman knows her worth, which of course is immeasurable. As a result, it’s nearly impossible to knock her off her game.
By contrast, a woman down is a woman who feels unseen, unheard, and on more days than she cares to admit, undone.
Unseen because, no matter what you do, no one seems to notice or appreciate you in the ways you wish they would.
Unheard because, ever since you were a little girl, you were told to not make a scene, be quiet, “don’t ruffle feathers.”
Undone because we’re expected to do it all – and make it look easy – without asking for more, when more is all we want.
A woman down feels like she has no control over how her life plays out and as a result, she experiences a lot of resentment followed by guilt for feeling resentful; after all, other people have it way worse than she does. Why can’t she be happy with what she’s got?
And yet…
There’s no denying the deep ache of feeling unfulfilled.
The feeling of exhaustion that so many women talk about? It’s not because there’s too much to do. It’s because we’re so depleted emotionally that we just want to curl up and disappear.
Who among us hasn’t experienced that feeling?
And still we keep hoping for something or someone who can make us feel the rapture we long for.
We believe someone outside of us can change everything, if only we were so lucky.
A woman down doesn’t believe she has the power to change it all.
A woman down will scoff at that last sentence. She’ll insist “this is just the way things are.”
I know, because I used to be that woman.
Step Back
When we’ve spent seeing the world through clouded lenses, it’s hard to believe there is another way. It doesn’t seem possible.
And that doesn’t seem fair.
But it’s the simple act of stepping back to observe our mind’s almost desperate attempts to cling to what doesn’t work that provides us with the glimmer of hope we never knew was there.
Noticing how our minds can work against us is the hallmark of a woman who is beginning to rise UP.
Equanimity is a state of being that allows us to observe the limiting beliefs that hold us down. It’s the ability to enter into a state of emotional and mental calmness that removes us from the fray of a mind that is settled in its (old and unproductive) patterns.
Breaking those patterns is not easy to do, but it is possible. It depends on whether your desire for more outweighs the comfort of settling for less.
Equanimity is self care at its best.
Equanimity is at the heart of what I teach my coaching clients. It’s a step towards the dignity we lost when we were little girls because we started believing we weren’t the hot stuff we once thought we were.
How Does One Become A Woman UP?
A woman who is in the state of being “UP” challenges her mind all the time. She audits her beliefs and puts them through the filter of deliberate and conscious introspection, deep-thinking, self inquiry, personal growth, and ultimately some tough decision-making. It sounds like a lot of work but consider challenging that thought because when you do, you begin to break free from the status quo of emotional exhaustion.
Ready for a mind audit? It’s easier than you think: start by questioning everything about your life today; what you believe, what you like, what you don’t like, the kind of people you enjoy being around, who you don’t like to be around; the people you want to keep close to you and those you’d rather move to the back row; where you want to live; and most importantly, how you want to live your life. What kind of woman do you have to become in order to live that life?
Ready to become the kind of woman who builds a business that not only makes you money but also makes you happy?
Click HERE.
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