A Beautiful Affirmation on Women's Day

First Published on March 8, 2023

Today is International Women's Day and the words in the photo above are from a dear client of mine. It is one of the best compliments I have ever received.

When I read them in a text from her, I just stopped in my tracks. Stared out the window. Let myself really absorb them.

In my mind, I went back to a moment in 2011 when I sat on the deck outside a cabin in New Denver, BC where I vacation each year. It is my most sacred place in the world.

That 2011 version of me sat in the sun with a cup of coffee and a journal in hand.

It sounds idyllic except that she was profoundly miserable.

She had agreed to living a life - a good life - that didn't fit for her. And because who she appeared to be on the outside and who she really was on the inside didn't match, she got sadder and unhealthier the longer she lived with this misalignment.

She gained weight. She numbed with alcohol. She struggled with anxiety and migraines. She was exhausted all the time. She simmered with resentment.

But she was also brave.

She started to think about the concept of authenticity. She put the word on the screen saver of her computer as a constant reminder. She examined her thoughts, beliefs, and behaviour, and started to ever so slowly bring them into alignment with her authentic self.

She trusted her own voice more than anyone else's. For the first time in her life.

And her life started becoming her own again. And she got healthier.

And she freed herself.

She. Freed. Herself.

And that's why the text from my client meant so much to me. To know that the hard work I have done since 2011 is visible to the people around me means that my inner self and my outer life align. I am in alignment with who I really am at my core.

And that means I can live a life of meaning, peace, and ease.

And I can contribute to the world at the height of my own powers.

I can help other women free themselves.

The joy that comes from this is beyond words.

They say that we coach others on the things we have come through in our own life, This is very true for me.

The women who find me and become my clients are those who are ready to examine the roles and rules they have swallowed since the beginning of their lives, before their brains were even fully formed.

They are ready to 'dismiss whatever insults their own souls', as Walt Whitman said.

I help them to live in alignment and authenticity

I am so grateful and proud to be a badass. I wear that title with honour.

And I hope to inspire badassery in as many women as I can in my work and my life.

It is so worth the effort.

And to that sad, sad woman on the deck in New Denver in 2011 I want to say, "Hang on, my darling. Keep doing the work. You're on the right track. And you won't believe what is waiting for you in 2023. It is so amazing. You are so badass!"