Strong Woman Strong Relationships

This morning I did one of my favorite things--I went out to breakfast with a friend of mine.  Always a bonus to start the day with pancakes and bacon and even more so to have a great conversation while doing so.  One of our many subjects was my upcoming seminar (it is tomorrow, Wednesday,for all of you that live in the Columbus Ohio area) entitled Strong Woman, Strong Relationships.  

We spent much of our breakfast time discussing the meaning of the words Strong Woman Strong Relationship.  It was a spirited fun discussion so I thought I would continue it here.  

As women we receive so many conflicting messages about a. what it means to be strong and b. what it means to be in a relationship.  The challenge is that both are very individual decisions. My definition of a strong relationship may not be your definition of a strong relationship.  However, the key is getting clear on what both terms mean. What does being a Strong Woman mean to you?  How would you know if your relationships was strong?

For me being a strong woman means having a clear sense of what makes me tick, knowing myself, knowing what I value, what I believe and am passionate about.  A strong woman can be CEO of a fortune 500 company who is responsible for 1000 employees or mother of 3 who works from home and spends her days caring for her husband and children.  The point is it isn't what you do that makes your strong it is how you do it.  A strong woman knows her needs and expresses them, she doesn't alway act out of a place of 'should' but rather  she knows what she wants and she goes after that.  The world needs more strong women, women who are comfortable in their own skin--know who they are and the type of relationships they want and they go after it!  

Similarly women need to take a look at our definition of relationship--what does a strong relationship mean to us?  Does it mean: we spend all our time together?  my partner buys me gifts or takes me on trips?  my partner is supportive of my drive and ambition?   my partner holds me when I cry and understands my vulnerabilities?  There is no set rule on what a strong relationship looks like.  I believe a strong relationship is one where both partners 'show up' and co-create a loving, supportive, team. That may mean they spend every waking moment together, or they see each other only on the weekends, or that one partner stays home and the other partner earns the money etc.   A strong relationship can look like 1000 different things  the key is that we as woman need to start figuring out what a strong relationship looks like to us and then start creating that!!

In my experience working with many female clients-somewhere along the way we lost this definition of strength. We have bought into a lot of 'shoulds' and we started thinking the answer was 'out there'.  We forgot about the power of looking within to find the answer, to find our strength. 

So today ask yourself:  What does it mean to be a strong woman?  What does a strong relationship look like to me? 

Then tomorrow night have a Strong Woman Strong Relationship discussion. If you live near Columbus  grab your girlfriends, come to Easton, get some dinner and join me at Lifetime Fitness at Easton for the seminar.  If you don't live near Columbus-then grab your girlfriends and start the conversation-get curious and support your friends in getting clear on what makes them Strong!   For more information check out my website.  Looking forward to seeing you!