A cheerful welcome to you on International Women’s Day!
I hope you are taking time to celebrate yourself and/or the women in your life and around the planet today.
International Women’s Day is specially designed to bring awareness to and celebrate women’s achievements. This year’s theme is ‘Choose to Challenge.’ At International Women’s Day headquarters, they emphasize, “A challenged world is an alert world. And from challenge comes change.”
So, I’m asking you to gently challenge yourself.
This year’s theme gives my healing heart warm fuzzies. Choice is an important and empowering component when one is reaching for change. ‘Will Yourself to Challenge’ or ‘Forceful Determination to Challenge’ don’t have the same easeful action as Choose. When we choose, we have appropriate agency and power, even in challenging circumstances.
Here are 3 Ways You Can Challenge Yourself and Celebrate Women Today
1. Call
Pick up the phone and call an important woman in your life. Spend time listening to her words, inflections, and pauses. When you respond, relay back what she has just said. Give her the gift of hearing herself. Before the call ends communicate your favorite qualities about her and tell her why she is important to you.
2. Read
Spend time engaging with content written by women (incidentally, you are accomplishing this right now!). There is something for everyone on this reading list from the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library in New York. Reading allows us to slip into another reality which expands our own. Read and expand, friends.
3. Donate
Find an organization that supports women and then make a contribution. Here are some options: Womenkind Worldwide, Running Start, and, Alliance for International Women’s Rights. You can also check out Great Nonprofits to find something local to your area.
We suggest challenging yourself to accomplish one of the above today – anything more is extra credit (bank it for later!). Remember, I always believe you know best. If none of this strikes your fancy, make up your own challenge, then let us know about it in the comments below.
The spirit of International Women’s Day guides us to choose change. Choose Change – I couldn’t agree more. Go out, challenge yourself, and be well today!
If you’d like more reading on challenging yourself, check out this post by Erin Gobler.
Until next time.
Stay curious,
Caroline
Caroline Exner is a Healing Conversationalist and Ceremony Facilitator supporting her clients on their journey inward. Find out more about her work or schedule a session with her here.
Featured Image by Chris Murray. A New York Lifestyle.
In-text image by Kalei Peek. You Are The Change.
