In celebration of International Women’s Day, I wanted to write a blog dedicated to all the fabulous women who have come into my life, some I’m still friends with and others have moved on. But whether we’ve known each other for life or 20 minutes, this is for you.
You know you’re pretty special right? You’re juggling 100 different plates at any one time, always running around trying to get stuff sorted. One minute you might be sewing outfits for World Book Day or doing something for someone to make them feel special. The next day you’re presenting at a corporate meeting or working every hour trying to hit a deadline.
You always seem in control, even though you might be paddling like mad underneath. You make sure that no one sees you sob in the bathroom because someone made you feel like crap. You try to put on a brave smile but question your worth when you were passed over for a promotion that you worked hard for. You try not to show your pain when you find out the job was given to the bloke who plays football with the CEO and instead you claim, ‘it’s not his fault’ or ‘maybe I wasn’t good enough’.
No matter what you’re doing if someone rings you in distress or needs some advice, you’ll drop everything and lend a listening ear, even though your to-do list is as long as ‘War and Peace’. You never make people feel like they are intruding, and you always leave them feeling they can take on the world.
You sacrifice your own happiness to make others happy, you’ll give up your time to give other theirs back. You celebrate every success that your friend goes through and you always make sure that you’re thinking about them, even though you’ve not seen each other in months.
Every young woman who asks for advice you take them under your wing, become their mentor and give them some guidance. You cheer their successes and achievements long after they’ve moved on, still proud of everything they’ve achieved.
You’ll never give yourself kudos for the amazing work you do, and you’ll always credit your own success to other people. You think twice about applying for roles that you don’t think you deserve and will convince yourself you’re not good enough.
You don’t recognise how beautiful you are, you compare yourself to filtered images on insta and critique yourself about features others find so wonderful.
So, to pay back all the advice, support and help you’ve given, here’s some words of wisdom from me using everything you’ve taught me.
You are good enough, don’t be too hard on yourself. Don’t let people tell you or make you feel like you’re not. Never let people believe you are not worthy of a promotion or capable of doing something that you really want to do, you deserve so much more. Speak up if you’re being treated poorly, don’t let people walk over you. No one is better than you regardless of their role or who they are. Take credit for the work you’ve slogged over, put your hand up and say, ‘yes I did that’. Take risks and never fear what might happen. If the risk you take goes wrong, so what? Brush yourself off and start again. Don’t be afraid to say no, your own health and wellbeing matters, people won’t hold it against you and if they do then they are not worth your time. Keep your chin up and your head held high. Be proud of how far you’ve come and never apologise for who you are.
Remember:
