Investing In Ourselves: Six Takeaways From Mentoring Women
In February, I offered to gift an hour of my time to seven different women as a coach/mentor. It's something I've long considered doing and have been encouraged by my close friends to give it a try. I've always believed in investing in myself, but to be honest, I had not done a ton of it until 2020. I had reached a place in my work with the Ethan Lindberg Foundation and personally where I knew I needed some other inputs to get where I wanted to be. A good mentor doesn't give us the answers; they help us bring to life what we already know we want to do. They challenge us and give us a push to move. We need someone with the practical tools and tips on how to get our dreams closer to reality. They provide frameworks and perspectives we might not have yet. A good coach or mentor, or expert can help you catapult more quickly to where you want to be.
So after meeting with seven women and reflecting on my self-investment journey, here are a few takeaways that I think might spark some ideas in you. Before I share, I want to tell you how much I enjoyed each woman I had the privilege of speaking. They each inspired me with their ideas and their stories. I got off each call filled with gratitude for the time we had together.
1) We are all creative. In different ways, yes. But we are all creative in some way. We often doubt our abilities and do not trust ourselves, so we sit on a dream or an idea. You have to own the idea that you are creative.
2) We all have challenges that make bringing our dreams to life difficult; some of us more than others. What I think holds us back most of all is our mindset. When we have a mindset of lack, it's challenging to bring new things to life because we focus on the situation that we believe impedes our movement forward. What if our constraints signal to us we have to foster some skill development or change our mind or get creative? And even most simply, ask for help. I have personally struggled so much here. Having a child with a disability makes doing all the things I want to do much more challenging. I do feel jealous of the freedom I perceive others to have. Sometimes, I'm disappointed. But the constraints ultimately strengthen me and help me access my power.
3) Women are the quarterbacks of our families, our places of work, and our communities. Investing in ourselves makes our world better. We make so much of life go round. We're good at relationships, and we see the intersection between our business or cause and having an impact in the world. We want to give back and to make a difference. I heard that in the voice of each woman. All their ideas were so different, and really what they needed was not me to tell them what to do, but to encourage them to do it!
4) We need someone with fresh eyes and a little more experience than we have to move forward. We can't be experts in everything. We have seasons of our lives that take us on detours, which we ultimately learn lead us right to where we were meant to be anyway. Finding a trusted person with more experience to help guide us is sometimes all we need.
5) It's okay to ask for what you want. Professionally or personally. The first step is to say - this is what I want. The next and more challenging step can be telling others - a boss, a friend, a partner, a colleague - "I want to do this." Owning what you want is the first step to getting what you want.
6) Finally, you are worthy of your dreams. You do not need someone's permission to chase your dreams. You do not need a permission slip to bring your creativity to life. You do not need a note from your mother to tell you that your idea is worth pursuing. We limit ourselves when we question our worthiness. "Who am I to do..." YOU. You are worthy. ❤️
