Strength

This week is international women’s day. Many people have been discussing strong women. Lauding them. Strong women create strong families.  “A woman of valor.”  And it begged the question - do you think being strong is something inherent or something we can teach?

That’s a question I ask myself often. I’ve worked hard the past several years on my personal strength - internal and external. I believe they go hand in hand. If I feel strong and powerful in my physical self, it helps build my mental strength. Using mental strength I can endure more physically. They are intricately linked. It’s amazing the way our minds work. I can convince myself to keep going on a hard run by using these kinds of mind games. I can be at the end of my physical endurance and somehow convince myself to do just a bit more - and somehow I find myself finishing a half marathon spontaneously. 

I hope that strength can be taught. Likely more modeled than taught. 

In order to know what strong means - I thought I’d define some aspects of what I see as strength  I would love comments on what you see as strength as well.

Strength is...

-understanding what you’re good at 

-emotional honesty - without embarrassment and not seeing it as weakness 

-willingness to take reasonable risks 

-speaking your mind and opinions unapologetically-  not rude or brash but honest 

-pushing limits - both physically and emotionally 

-being able to feel pain without being consumed by it 

-being able to recover - from whatever comes your way 

When it came to naming my youngest daughter, it was my turn to choose. I wanted to imbue in her a sense of becoming a strong woman. I named her after a woman in the Bible who was a warrior, Yael, who killed the general Sisra in one of Israel’s wars. And I made her a mantra I remind her of often when she’s scared - that she is brave and strong like the woman she was named for. I believe, in time, she will internalize that lesson. 

Kids see how we live. They absorb everything from our mannerisms to our reactions. They see our confidence. They feel our power. Give your kids the gift of your strength.