Wednesday, March 18, 2015

May We Be Adventurous




Empowermake (someone) stronger and more confident

How to raise an empowering daughter?  Six months pregnant with my first child- a girl- this matter has been on my mind a lot, lately. I opened the question up to my Facebook friends and they offered their insights. Trust her. Allow her to struggle. Teach her how to own her feelings, make requests, set boundaries, and ask questions. Start by trusting and empowering yourself...

Trusting and empowering ourselves is a tall order but one that invites us to grow in wellbeing, satisfaction, and contentment in the process! It goes hand-in-hand with letting go of external expectations. Worrying less about pleasing others and more about what it means to truly care for ourselves.

It's funny how the news of a daughter on the way awakens the inner feminist. One Huffpost headline caught my attention, "The Secret to Raising a Kind Daughter." Certainly, we all want our children to be kind but I'm more concerned with raising an adventurous daughter. Challenging the status quo is a key ingredient to a healthy life. So, I have to be an adventurous parent. 

Adventurous- willing to take risks or to try out new methods, ideas, or experiences

How can I step into my new role of being an adventurous and empowering mom? It seems that first and foremost I'll have to get more comfortable with not having it all together all of the time. We all know that no one ever really achieves super woman status in real life. But, still. It sure has been addicting to try! But, seriously. Let's talk specifics...

  • Take risks.
  • Try new things.
  • Demonstrate that it's okay to make mistakes.
  • Share healthy ways to self-sooth in times of stress.
  • Embody the importance of taking good care of ourselves.
  • Expose her to difference. Show that it's not to be feared.
  • Ask questions to draw out her inner knowledge.
  • Let her be her own person- whoever that is.
  • Remember she is the expert of her own life.
  • Challenge oppressive language, policies, and actions.
  • Above all, have fun. Don't take yourself too seriously.

What would you add to the list? How have you found that doing your own thing has increased your quality of life? What has offered inspiration along the way? When do you feel most authentic? How do you find this impacts your experience with others? 

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