I started writing a whole blogpost about Women Empowerment two weeks ago and how I felt I’m doing this in my own imperfect way. And guess what happened? I had to re-write the entire post. It didn’t feel right. It didn’t flow. And yet, wasn’t this the whole point? That trying to write a ‘perfect’ essay, was not what it was about or what I wanted to share. The writing that resonates most with my readers is written quickly, from my heart. Not by over thinking it. Not by trying to cram more words in. So here I am again today, starting fresh in a local cafe, typing away with a dash of feelings.
All these feelings of uncertainty lingering in the back of my mind, made me think about imperfect empowerment. Could I inspire others or even empower them when I have doubts myself? I thought about this for awhile, but yes - yes I can!
It’s human nature to feel this way - especially when starting something new (like a creative business in a new country). By sharing and talking about it more, it became clear to me that people don’t mind that I’m showing up imperfectly. That’s all in my head. Every person going after their dreams has their own shares of doubts, even if we don’t see them. As does every entrepreneur who has a big or small company, they have their doubts about their work. Even famous people are still nervous when they have to perform - it’s normal and it is part of being human.
But what these people don’t do, is listening to their inner fears and giving in to them. They keep moving forward despite their fears. This made me think back at all the times I leaped into uncertainty, moving across oceans with my family and starting afresh in a new country - again and again and again. If I could get past my fears then, I could do it this time too, I told myself. And so I’m letting go of fear or doubt the moment they show up again.
In this past year I’ve learned that these emotions come and go. By letting them visit me (“oh hello Fear, here you are - again… do have a seat in the back of my mind and I’ll continue with my day, okay?”) and then firmly send them on their way, back to where they came from. It really helped me to regain my focus, confidence and creativity.
“Perfectionism is just fear in fancy shoes” Elizabeth Gilbert once said and since my shoes are not fancy at all, I might as well keep on walking, in my own way and have some fun while doing it.
Like seeing all the fun we have during the Meetups. I didn’t listen to fear when I started to organize them, even though I’m nervous every time. It’s so great to see the connections or collaborations that are made between women, that fear has no grip on my decision to move forward with these Meetups. There is so much laughter when women come together, having a drink and something to eat while connecting and learning with each other. Even though these women don’t know each other when they arrive, the camaraderie, the kinship and kindness is real. So I can’t have room in my head for visiting feelings of doubt or fear to cloud my goals.
And that’s what I wanted to share with this post two weeks ago already, but I couldn’t find the right words.
I really hope you:
Keep creating your dreams into reality - despite the doubts.
Make real connections with other humans - even if you fear reaching out to someone.
Love what you do - and while you keep walking forward, enjoy the journey doing it.
And I’ll make sure to keep walking too - imperfectly, but warm in my old Uggs.
Maureen x
*photo by: Serrah Galos via Unsplash
