I honestly hadn’t thought about this with any seriousness before. I am an adult woman, I do a lot of things, I have a lot of professional and personal experience and I am able to help others from my experience.
Wow, simple to write but not so simple to internalise. The kick is, that if we realise these things (the earlier the better), then we can pass on this intrinsic sense of healthy self-worth to our children.
And guess what, it’s not something we have to consciously do. We just have to consciously be, and the kids will pick it up.
I’m not talking about arrogance or bragging. It’s more about self-confidence and recognition for what has been achieved thus far. Most of the time, we women just “get on with it” and we don’t even think about acknowledging the great stuff we do. Men are great at doing this. They set goals, they work towards them (boldly and unapologetically most of the time) and then they celebrate their wins.
“We need to celebrate our wins”, this is what a colleague told me yesterday at yet another Women in Tech event I went to last night. The space was packed. There were some men scattered around, but in the 150 people group, mostly were women.
I had a previous chat that afternoon with this colleague and she said some things that really made me think. I went into that chat thinking she would be a great mentor for me – she is older than me, much more accomplished professionally, and so I was looking forward to learning from her. What ended up happening is that it was a mutual learning experience. She too learned stuff from me, which I found surprising. And then at one point she said that I needed to recognise where I am in my life. And recognise that I do have something to give and share that is valuable and inspiring to other people (younger or older evidently).
The meetup in the evening was a true demonstration that Women in Tech is no longer a niche and that, especially in London, it is a thriving community. And it makes me so proud to be a part of that. It made me even more flattered to receive compliments from yet another lady at the event.
So I went home feeling quite chuffed and thinking that it is definitely important to celebrate your wins, recognise where you are in your life and what you can offer to others from all the experiences you’ve had so far.
And when you think about all the stories of your life that you could tell your friends over a glass of wine, think of sharing those with your kids too. They too will be inspired but all your achievements and want to follow in your footsteps.