Imagine yourself as a plant. Like the beautiful plant in your room—you need love and care from your surroundings.
To grow, you need to be watered and exposed to sunlight. Water and sunlight are your fellow supporters—like women support women.
You can bloom in a field of beautiful flowers without comparison, as you’re all unique in your own way. And you bloom for yourself.
But, having a community of supportive women will empower you. Here’s how.
They teach us to be compassionate and gentle with ourselves.
You show compassion to others—family, friends, and even strangers. But, are you kind to yourself? Do you think good thoughts and talk to yourself like you would to a loving friend? Being surrounded by a community of women who know how to treat themselves well will teach you to, too. Not only do they know how to take care of themselves but they act with grace and wholeheartedly embrace their imperfections.
They teach us to be brave with our choices.
Do you know any strong and independent women who live life on their own terms? They beam with confidence because they do brave work and make courageous choices (even though they’re scared as hell), because it’s risky and the ideal outcome isn’t always guaranteed. But their success is what makes them admirable—which inspires and motivates you to be braver. Everyone is on their own path making the best decisions for themselves. And these positive role models bring out their inner strengths and power to design the life of their dreams.
They see the potential in us that we don’t see in ourselves.
The best part of having a group of women who have your back is that they see you for who you truly are. And they will push you to believe in your own potential; to take the first step and do the work you need to do until you believe in yourself too. Sometimes we work hard, and opportunities present themselves—only to completely mess up through self-sabotage, impostor syndrome, and the lack of self-confidence—to name a few. That’s when we need our support system more than anything because they know us, and not the self-deprecating thoughts we tell ourselves. They will support us through difficult times and hold us accountable for our actions.
They remind us that we are already whole and enough on our own.
It’s always comforting to have someone be there for you. Someone who will listen, provide emotional support, and offer help in any way. Someone who will mentor, sponsor, and introduce you to others in their valuable network. Your circle of love will expand. You’ll learn to negotiate strategically and finally ask your manager for that raise or promotion. You’ll ask for help and support from your network (without feeling bothersome). And if the answer is “no”— your support system will serve to remind you that you are already whole, and enough, on your own.
Live Your Potential is one of the communities that I’m incredibly proud to be a part of. I’m extremely fortunate to work alongside co-founders Dr. Jean Kim and Lilit Simonyan as a LYP alumni and content creator over the years. I’ve had the opportunity to meet other like-minded and empowering women like myself in the program, as well during the Talk Series events.
Today, I continue to pursue my passion for writing, with the continued support of the LYP community. This is why we need a community of women who will cheer you on and celebrate your growth to personal and professional success.
Originally published at Live Your Potential
Published at Thrive Global