I am travelling for a month, visiting family, dear friends and colleagues in Canada, and spending some reflection time with Me, Myself and I.
I love road trips, and as a safe driver should, I frequently glance in the rearview mirror.
My attention doesn't linger there; just brief seconds to make be aware of what is behind me. But, at the same time, I see me and I have the opportunity to check in with me also.
Six months ago, I recorded the episode "Love Thy Selfie". Today, on the road, I look back as a reminder to love me first, so that I can love others as my best self.
Safe travels all!
Transcripts
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Will you be my Valentine?
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It's February, traditionally the month that we think about hearts
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and flowers, and candy, and dates, and a little romance...
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Spending a little more time loving on the people that are important in our lives.
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I think that we should be loving on ourselves every month.
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That's why one of my mottos is Love Thy Selfie.
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Just as a reminder...
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Particularly for many women...
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Certainly I earned that badge...
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I am often much more critical of myself than anybody else could ever be.
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I'm not good enough.
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I'm not young enough.
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I'm not slim enough.
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I'm not, not, not,
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Always this drive to...
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Be better THAN...
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Instead of going...
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This is ME...
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And this is wonderful.
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I Do Love My Selfie.
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It's such an awkward thing at first to say...
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To myself...
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I was raised with that sort of of attitude of...
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Don't be vain.
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Don't be looking for compliments..
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Always be very humble and meek.
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And you know, if you think too much of yourself, well you're really just...
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Heading for trouble.
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That you should always only be thinking about other people.
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And as a woman...
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You should put yourself last.
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you should always, kind of be...
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Demure, or at least not...
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Practicing any form of self admiration or self appreciation.
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Unfortunately, that's changing a lot.
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But of course, the other side of the coin can be...
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That now, today, with our social environment...
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Where we are being exposed to filtered and altered photographs
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of everybody's A life...
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But it becomes even more of a challenge to go...
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Oh my...
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This is me...
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Without my makeup, on a bad hair day, on a day when I'm feeling
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less than the Superwoman...
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That I want to be, or that I need to be...
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For myself, and for others.
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In a conversation with a friend of mine, not long ago.
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She's said something that's just stuck with me...
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We were talking about...
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At our age...
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We're both in our sixties plus...
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How to feel desirable and sexy and passionate...
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The disappointment in changing, and evolving relationships over time.
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Where some of that passion is lost, or we just don't feel sexy
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enough to deserve that passion.
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Her statement was...
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If I don't turn me on?...
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Who can?!!
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That struck a chord with me, and made me think more about that...
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That...
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Yes, as a woman, I'm 66 years old now.
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I don't know where you are in this spectrum of evolution as a woman...
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But...
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Can you look at yourself?...
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and say...
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Hey babe, you turn me on.
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And when you do...
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Really, really say that with conviction.
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How does that change your attitude?...
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Your feeling, your posture, your smile, your sparkle, your tingle
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in all those great feminine places?
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Has society pegged us wrong?
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Do we stop being romantic or sexy or just wanting physical affection when,
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after menopause, or in our sixties.
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I'm a grandmother who's a live, warm blooded woman.
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I want not only to be admired for who I am authentically, but to
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admire myself, for who I truly am.
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When I wonder about how you feel about this, and...
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What are the ways that we can appreciate ourselves?
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To continue to build ourselves up so that we feel great...
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And we set examples for people around us.
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Know the old adage...
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of mama's not happy, nobody's happy?
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I think that applies to how we feel.
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Absolutely.
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It does apply to how we feel about ourselves and how that radiates
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around us and affects other people.
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There's the energy, the vibes that are flowing...
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When you do feel positive about yourself.
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As a woman aging through childbearing years and menopause, and divorce
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and business challenges, and growth.
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The loss of loved ones, dear friends and parents...
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It isn't always sunshine and lollipops..Is it?...
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But...
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Then you add on to that...
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As we get a little older...
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And hair is growing where we don't want it to...
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And isn't growing, we wish it would more.
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Our bodies letting us down, changing and morphing in shape.
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Hormones are coming and going.
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Staying up late means staying up past 9:00 PM, and our energy levels can be lower,
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and our habits, and our willpower...
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They have different priorities.
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Let's just say that.
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Does that mean...
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That we aren't any less vibrant?...
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and desirable?...
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To ourselves, and for ourselves?
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I think not.
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It's a matter of changing our perspective and realizing that the societal norms
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of the curly blue haired grandma...
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The cardigan sweater and the sensible shoes are not relevant anymore.
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Unless we choose that is who we are, and that's what we love about ourselves.
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Instead...
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We have options.
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We're evolutionary women...
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We can rewrite those standards.
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And in fact, we're writing what I call Her-story.
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What does it mean now, in 2021 and beyond...
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To be a woman?
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In the 3rd stage of her life?
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What do you do?...
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How do you show up?...
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In those 50, 40, 30, 20, more years that you will live vibrantly and energetic?
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What are the ways that you identify with this new you?...
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This next you...
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How do you leverage that to influence your life, your own autonomy and satisfaction.
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How do you influence others, and be a mentor or role
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model, for those around you?
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With all of that lifetime of accumulated tacit knowledge, feminine wisdom,
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experience, strengths and skills.
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What will you do?...
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To help others, as you Lift As You Climb, and have an impact that is significant...
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and is the legacy that you create!
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Very interested to hear what your thoughts are about...
