Courageous Women

I had the opportunity to attend the President’s Commission for Women at UMBC recently.  The topic was Women’s Role in the 21st Century.  I came out of this event feeling so inspired by the strength of these women and the power of the stories they told!  In the opening remarks Janet Rutledge touched so many women in the audience with her words that I asked her to share them with the infertility community too.

Courage through stories

Maya Angelou was asked to share a message of empowerment for Women’s History Month.  This is what she said, “Women must first develop courage.  Courage is the most important of all virtues because without courage, they cannot practice any other virtue consistently. A woman can be kind, fair, strong, generous, courteous and even loving, erratically. But to be that continuously, consistently, you have to have courage.”. –Maya Angelou

• Some people are born with courage
• Some of us are thrust into situations that require courage we didn’t know we had
• Many of us gain courage through stories that others share
  • Motivated by their stories
  • Believe that if they can do it so can I (power of role models)

Why is storytelling important to meeting our goals?

• Knowing and sharing your story helps you focus on your goals
• Promotes networking - brings together people who can help you reach your goals
• Seminar speaker and now colleague of mine, Dr. Howard Adams, advises everyone to always talk to the person next to you on the airplane—share your stories—you never know where it can lead
• Validation—misery loves company (Often times you can learn from others AND you won’t feel so alone)!

Be an ant.  Don’t spend time worrying about why someone put a barrier in your way.  Go over, under, around or pick it up and take it with you (it might be just the thing you were looking for anyway)! 

Aren’t Janet’s words powerful in many situations, including infertility?  I used to be much more guarded about my story.  Trust me, it is not always comfortable to share such emotional and personal stories  but what I have found is that people are often times very compassionate and understanding.  It was a little uncomfortable for me to share my story with Janet and in turn ask her to share her speech on this blog but I am so thankful that I did. 

Stay tuned for the follow-up post on the topic of courage…Be courageous and find your voice!