October is National Women’s Small Business Month. Over the last couple of years, I’ve read several reports about the growing number of women business owners.
I’ve also read that working women reinvest in their families and communities. The phrase, “Educate a woman. Education a nation,” has never been truer.
The range of talents and skills and interests that women use to grow businesses is astounding. Our businesses offer everything from crocheted swimsuits to specialized lacrosse balls to executive coaching to nutrition management to home or office organizing to yoga to dance to fine arts to sales and business coaching to branding to blogging to marketing strategies to mindset strategies to personal energy strategies and more.
Over the summer, I learned about some women in Ecuador who craft handmade hats. They’re artisans with a business that helps them create the flexibility they need to create the lives they want to live. They work at home, set their own schedule, determine their workload and take breaks as needed to manage family affairs.
The beauty of their work and their stories inspired me. It occurred to me that this is what many of us want, flexibility, the freedom to shift between our roles as needed, and the clarity to see how each of our roles supports the other roles. And yes, we want to create something beautiful with our work.
That’s balance at its best. Flexibility. Freedom. Beauty. Joy. Peace. A sense of integration and wholeness.
When life gets demanding, we can begin to feel fragmented, like our roles are competing with each other. We may feel pulled in one direction over another.
But giving more or less in one area may be exactly what we need to maintain balance. Challenging times can remind us to be flexible.
As we start this month dedicated to celebrating women’s ingenuity, it’s a good opportunity to take stock. Think about where the beauty lies in your work. Think about how you find freedom and flexibility.
Over the next couple of weeks, observe and complete these tasks:
Write down five ways your work makes you feel beautiful.
Write down five ways your work offers beauty to others.
Write down five ways your work creates freedom for you.
Find 5 ways you practiced flexibility.
Take the time to reconnect with the core values of your work. Notice how your work helps to bring these values alive in your life. Notice how your work, play, family, church, community, health and all the parts of your life fit together.
Tune into your sense of wholeness. Dance to the rhythm of the joy and beauty you’re creating.
If you need support, contact us. The Living Source is here to help you plug in to the power of you.
© Sandra Y. Lewis