Hear me out on this ...
I think you have power right now, in this moment, that you are afraid to access. You’re not necessarily afraid of the power itself, but you understand that once you access it — wield it and own it — it will inevitably change your life.
Once you use your voice at work, everyone will know where you stand.
Once you disagree with a family member on an important issue, you will disrupt the social dynamics of how you gather.
Once you say your dream out loud, you’ll hear all the reasons why it won’t work or that it’s too late to try or just plain crazy.
Once you drop the shield and show up as you truly are, you risk being seen … and with being seen risks disappointment and even rejection.
Claiming our power comes with risk, and we’ve all felt it. And, once we touch that power and acknowledge it and bring it forward, we know there’s no going back.
JulieAnn wrote about finding her power this past year, and it helped remind me of two things.
First of all, I have so much power and so do you. My goodness, it’s oozing out of us most of the time and we don’t even see it.
Second, the world is a better place when women are using their divine power for good, for change and for each other. Your power (yes, you reading this) if USED will impact the life of another woman for GOOD. Everything in this world is an energy transaction. So then, every time we remain silent, every time we don’t speak up, every time we let shitty behavior of friends or colleagues slide, every time we tolerate systems or decisions that keep suppressing women, our BIPOC friends, our LGBTQ friends, our fellow women in the workplace and the women who aren’t even in the room but need us standing up for them, every single time we don’t use our power, there is a consequence, and for me, we can no longer afford that consequence.
I share with you something JulieAnn wrote this past spring, about how women showing up in their power impacted a big moment in her cancer journey.
Friday, I got my head shaved, on my own terms after first cutting my hair really short weeks ago.
The young woman at the salon created a space for me. “I couldn’t know possibly know how you are feeling, I recognize how hard this might be, thank you for trusting us with this step.” And with that she gave me space, to own the experience how I wanted. My stylist showed up 3 hours early at 8am to be there, so I would have a familiar face. My friend gave me part of her dedicated flexible workday, to be my Uber and documentarian of the experience. She is the same woman who walked me through how to show up for job interviews and own my unique set of skills and experiences to eventually get hired.
Each woman did what was in her power, allowing me to use mine.
Read that last sentence above again, and then again.
When we do what is within our power, other women benefit. When we use our gifts, skills, talents to our full potential, other women benefit. Other women are lifted up, made heard and valued.
I’ve thought about this so much in launching the PowHERful collection. It can’t just be a collection so much as it must also be a call to all of us to start using our voices and letting our POWER be felt. Like, earthquake-style powHERful vibrations, ladies.
I want to leave you two questions from JulieAnn and a few prompts to think about as you run your miles and consider your own personal power.
From JulieAnn:
• What habits or parts of your day can you take control of to leave you feeling more powerful?
• What one thing would help you to be more powerful when you move?
And a few from me:
• What is your SUPER power? Be bold with your gifts and abilities here!
• Where have you been quiet that now needs you to be louder, more disruptive and powHERful?
• What do you risk by using your voice in spaces where you know it’s needed? (It’s important to acknowledge and see it.)
• What freedom would you feel by using your power? And whom might benefit by you being louder with your voice, power and position?
• If you’re realizing you’ve been sitting on your power for awhile, what is one step you can take right now to begin taking it back?
• Who is a woman you’ve seen owning her power lately? #Tellher via text or message what you see and how proud you are of her.
xo,
Mel