We live in a time of lost voices wanting to be found. Do you remember the last time you read an article and felt like someone sucker punched you? I do. It was this morning, reading this.
Glennon tells a story of her son’s teenage friends, and the stark difference between the girls and the boys…and I was transported. I was trying to figure out when I found my voice. Then, the memories came streaming in. I was in a country not my own, working a job I felt overworked and underappreciated in, and with a partner that invalidated me and pushed every insecure button that had ever been installed in me during those frightful developmental years.
Oh to be one of those young girls, with Glennon Doyle Melton sitting in front of you, teaching you the things it would take many many hard experiences to learn. And yet, I wouldn’t change those days. I look back today, and I can see how that inner voice was having her way even when I wasn’t aware it was her. She had me on an adventure even more wild than you can imagine.
So, at 29, I started to pay very close attention to that voice. It wasn’t as strong or as loud as I needed her to be, but if I searched deeply enough she was there. The first step was an enrollment in my International MBA, which led to the self-destruction of the codependent relationship that was sucking so much of my energy. (special note: when you start to rise, any codependency will spontaneously combust….but the mosaic that will be made out of the pieces is far more beautiful than you could imagine!)
I was still in a foreign country, but I’d taken it back on my own terms. Yes, the job was thankless, but I could thank myself for putting myself into a graduate program that absolutely fascinated me. You see, it doesn’t take much for that inner voice to feel acknowledged and to start speaking more and more loudly for you.
And with that, I want to ask you to please help me on this mission that I’ve found myself. If you have a daughter, a niece, a sister, or even just know someone who has one – help her. Listen for her voice and guide her to do the same. I can’t tell you how many women I meet, especially businesswomen, who are looking for advice. They are looking for someone else to give them an answer, when all along the answer is inside of them. If you can share this post, Glennon’s article, or even just your care – we can start to uncover these voices and the world will THANK YOU FOR IT. Because amazing things happen when these voices are listened to.
If anything, my life is proof of this truth!