Becoming An Inspiring Woman

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Every woman has been endowed by God with the ability to inspire a life to greatness. However, how many of us take hold of that God-given gift and use it to leave a lasting positive effect on all those we meet? This was a question that hit me in the face not too long ago and it got me thinking very hard.

We go through life and face lots of challenges. We are a few days away from Valentine’s Day and as different people pair up, some others curl up in loneliness with no one to celebrate any day of love with; and the sad part is that some of those in this category are married.

When you are feeling so down and miserable, it’s easy to just focus on how you are feeling and not really bother about anyone else. There’s so much going on in your life, surely you can be forgiven for being preoccupied with your problems?

But life does not have to be that way. Each day, each moment, we each decide how we want to be in every circumstance. Do you want to be a sorry case, wallowing in self-pity, or are you determined that your life will be a source of inspiration to someone else?

It depends on you.

In a recent article, John Maxwell pointed out that:

“it’s up to us whether goodness and love follows in our wake, or whether we leave a trail of heartache and pain through the way we conduct our lives. In consciously choosing to craft an inspiring legacy, we accept personal responsibility for our actions. No one leaves a good legacy without effort; we have to work in order to hand off a worthwhile heritage to our children or to our successors in leadership.”

Maybe you are thinking that you need to have achieved some super feat, found the cure to something terrible or maybe run a marathon for you to be an inspiration to someone else. If you are in an emotionally abusive relationship, your confidence has probably been so battered that you look at yourself in the mirror and can’t even fathom why anyone would want to be inspired by you.

But what you may not realize is that there is someone silently watching you and modeling their life after yours. It might be your neighbour’s daughter, or the little girl you see each day on your way from work. Don’t be surprised if it’s your colleague that is watching you and wanting to be like you. And if you have children, you are the biggest role model they have, whether you want to acknowledge it or not. They are watching you and picking up little bits and pieces of your character to pattern theirs after. What bits are they picking up? Is it the nasty, back-biting attitude or is it the way you always seem to find a way to help someone who is in need? What legacy are you leaving behind for those who look up to you?

How you handle yourself in a crisis speaks a lot about you.

My father used to tell me something when I was little. He said that when a bottle of beer is shaken and opened, beer comes out. But no matter how hard you shook a bottle of Fanta, it was still Fanta that was going to come out when the bottle was opened.

What comes out when you are shaken by circumstances?

Jeff Weiner (CEO of LinkedIn), in a post, stated what he learnt from Ray Chambers, a guy who left Wall Street to pursue a life of giving and helping others. According to Jeff, Ray has 5 keys to happiness:

1. Live in the moment

2. It’s better to be loving than to be right

3. Be a spectator to your own thoughts, especially when you become emotional

4. Be grateful for at least one thing every day

5. Help others every chance you get (highlighting mine).

You may not have the candles and roses or the box of chocolate; you may not even have a loving partner who seeks any opportunity to show you his love, but you have yourself. Learn how to show love to yourself, and then take that love and make someone else’s life better.

So you might be like some of us and you know that you want to leave a lasting legacy behind, one that inspires, but you’re not sure how to get from desire to realization. The article by Jojn C. Maxwell shows you how to achieve the legacy you want to leave. There are 4 points, but my personal favorite is

Live the Legacy you want to Leave

Simple, yet so incredibly profound

YOU are an Inspiring Woman. You have what it takes to inspire an entire generation to greatness. Don’t live a life less than what you’ve been called to live. Make up your mind today; take the commitment to becoming an inspiring woman every day.

 

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