“Now is the time for women to break the barriers of self- limitation."

"You can be far more than you ever dreamed possible.”
 
       From Empowering Women by Louise L. Hay

 
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Happy International Women’s Day! 8 March is the day when we celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. This years’ theme is “Be Bold for Change”.
 
Hang about! Why would we need to be bold? And what would it look like?  Isn’t that a bit out there???

The truth is, change usually feels freaky. It quite often requires courage – particularly when it comes to the roles that society gives us.   

After breaking up with a girlfriend, one of my kids said sadly “I just don’t know how to be romantic”. This surprised me, as I had witnessed the genuinely thoughtful and loving ways in which they had engaged in nurturing the relationship.

This set me thinking about how we see “love” being expressed these days: the very public marriage proposals (choreographed months in advance, then posted on social media)… the gestures that involve surprise celebrity appearances… not one bunch of flowers but a room full…

I realise that the bar for what we call “love” seems to have been raised very high –  impossibly high, or at least unsustainably high.

This time of year is my time to sit down with a cuppa and reflect - to see what needs to be released, what is to be kept and improved and what is to be brought in to my life.

I start by asking myself about 20 questions in a space of quiet reflection (see http://www.healyourlife.com/it-s-a-new-year  from Louise Hay).
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Even though I have studied and practiced Louise Hay's work for over 15 years, been teaching it for several years now and have vastly increased how much I love and believe in myself, yet again I am astounded at the power of a good question!
 
Because the very first question had this response tumbling out of me...

Are you afraid of criticism???                                                            

A while back I was thinking… for as long as I can recall (we’re talking 30+ years here!) I had always got upset and defensive when it came to disagreements or anything that felt like criticism of me.  When I witnessed other people in these situations it really surprised me how much less they seemed to be affected compared to me. Friends or family who I sometimes talked to about it would say “you’ve just got to let it be water off a duck’s back” or “just be yourself” and “don’t take it personally”.  I wished I could have!  I had no idea how to change and be like that. 

Have you noticed how often we focus on the negative instead of the positive – specially when it comes to ourselves? Most of us continually walk around with a “must do better” message playing in our heads! Must do better financially!  Must do better with eating habits! Must do better with exercising! Must do better… Must do better… Must do better…!