DAY 310 (Women Tribe)

Now that the world is progressing and we do see women leaders all around the world doing great things and inspiring people, my organization also have some powerful women personalities leading the business while inspiring and paving way for inclusiveness and diversity.

A prime inspiring day of my life was a recent conference that I attended last week at my workplace which was a talk session of the women technologists/leaders of the group. The session gave away so many life changing lessons to me that I am so glad I did not miss it. There are moments in your life that literally grows you in your character and personality and this was one of those moments of my life.

We, the women tribe, are so smart and yet so naive. It was so overwhelming to realise that all or most of us feel the same things, go through the same struggles in day-to-day life but we all feel that the situations are unique to us. Or at best we assume, there are very few people who have to face the same things. There were some great personal stories shared in this meet and it was a feeling of personal connect seeing all the nodding heads around to simple things like 

"Whenever I go out for work or pleasure, I have this fear of how for those few hours my kids will be managed" 

"I feel I am very important (not in an egoistic way) and nothing can be managed without me at home or elsewhere and that's when I try to imbibe the super-woman syndrome in me which tires me and leaves me exhausted"

" All I need most of the times is a push, a support that I CAN DO THIS".

"I always feel guilty when I try to do something for just myself. "

These are such simple statements and we feel we are silly to be feeling this but in that room of a couple of dozen women, all those nodding heads were such an assurance that I am not alone in this. And that togetherness goes a long way.

I understood the power of women-tribe that day. How just getting into a room of random women and sharing your stories can be life-changing. How sharing your vulnerability can be so empowering. How it is so important to find allies in all aspects of life.

There was such an important discussion where it was also discussed how it is equally important for men to be our allies. They called it "BAM: Bring a Man". We all, always assume that in order to share our problems/challenges or find solutions, it is only fellow women who can understand and help us out. But we are so wrong. World is full of diversity and we need our allies in the world and not just in a room.

How it is so important to not feel guilty and thus not trying to imbibe the superwoman syndrome. We don't need to prove anything to anyone. Often, we come under the society pressures or peer pressure (as we like to call it) and try to juggle too many balls altogether. What is it worth? What are we going to achieve with it? What good is it going to do to me? Am I going to be happy being exhausted? And if I am not happy, can I have a positive environment around for my family?

These are the questions we must understand and ask ourselves when trying to achieve something dramatic without a cause. We must not shy away from asking help. And find alternatives if we don't get help. 

One more key take-way that I think I am never going to forget in my life is: Any problem that you face- ask yourself- is it going to matter in 5 hours, in 5 days, in 5 weeks? 99% of the problems do not matter after 5 weeks. There is only 1 problem that is big enough to not be able to get out of is a bad marriage! And it's so true and an unrealized truth.

We women, must learn these 4 points for a better life professionally or personally:

Do, Delay, Delegate, Drop.

We are brought up in a way that we tend to achieve 100% of what we are asked to do. Sometimes things are not even asked of us. We assume our responsibilities. And we try to do everything of that list. It is not only unfair, it is inefficient. We are not going to do our best in any of the areas because we are just 1 human with only so much life in us. And that's when we need to decide, understand and work upon what it is that we need to do, what can be delayed, what can be delegated and what can be dropped. Simple enough, but life changing.

Often, it is our immediate family who brings us down and demotivates us from reaching our potential. That is when the women tribe comes so handy and uplifting. I personally believe, it is not just women with personal challenges who need to come together and just pat each others back and inspire each other. It is the women who are blessed enough, who are supported enough also need to participate and join hands. These groups are just so important and a need not just for togetherness of the tribe but for the progress of the world as a whole.

Hence, I encourage all you women readers, to come together. Be there for each other. Inspire each other. And do not forget to ally with men who you know can help the cause. 

Keep shining!