According to the World Bank:
Empowerment is the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes.
It is a process through which, an individual becomes a means of change. It’s going from “I can’t” to “I can.”
More ladies are landing top positions in businesses. Positions that were once dominated by men and deemed unsuitable for women.
How can we, as women, continue empowering ourselves (and hopefully those around us)?
Here are some suggestions:
Believe in Yourself
If we don’t have belief in ourselves, then how can we expect anyone else to believe in us?
We are going to fail and experience a loss or setback at some point. But when it does happen, and when our belief is strong, no failure or setback will have the power to completely wipe us out.
Remove Doubt
“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.”
William Shakespeare
Self-doubt can hold us back from seizing opportunities as well as make starting/completing things seem harder than they might be.
Whenever this happens/starts happening, STOP! Take a minute, and think about how many times in the past we’ve thought we couldn’t do something and how many of those times we were able to achieve that thing.
Talking about those doubts with someone can also get us a change in perspective.
Whatever we do, let’s not let doubt get the better of us.
Remember, the moment we stop believing in our dream(s), so will others, and that is a sure shot to failure.
Overcome Challenges
At some point in life, we are all faced with challenges. However, we all have a choice in how we respond to it.
The biggest obstacle to achieving success is often ourselves. Overcoming this and identifying our challenge is the first step on the road to success.
Make sure the challenge is important to us and that we have the time to commit to seeing it through to succession.
Challenges can also often appear unachievable when viewed as a whole. Breaking it up into smaller steps can help. Each small step can be viewed as a short-term goal.
Believing we can achieve our goal(s) provides the foundation in overcoming our challenge. With that belief comes a commitment to doing what it takes to make sure we continue to deliver our goals.
Persistence, Perseverance and Patience:
Be patient. Success is not overnight. There will be ups and downs along the way.
Let’s learn from our mistakes and use them as stepping-stones to success. Even Rome was not built in a day!
Most who succeed are the ones who had the grit, determination, patience and perseverance.
In the most trying times it is these virtues that’ll pull us through, taking us through that last mile.
And Finally… Stay Focused!