It has been around since the early 1900s and is now celebrated every year. It brings together governments, women’s organisations, corporations and charities.

One of the themes they have covered is #BeBoldForChange – You can watch a short video about what being bold means here

 

This got me thinking about bold women….

You’ve got women like Ellen Mcarthur the solo long-distance yachtswoman. On 7 February 2005 she broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe, a feat which gained her international renown.

Or Aviator Amelia Earhart before becoming the first woman to fly an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean in 1928.

Or how about Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old African-American seamstress refused to give up her seat in 1955 to a white passenger on the Montgomery City bus.

And of course suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst who shaped an idea of women for our time and shook society into a new pattern from which there could be no going back In 1903. She staged hunger strikes and withstood violence and abuse to enable all women the right to vote.

 And Malala Yousafzai  who was shot 3 times in the head on a school bus in Pakistan because she had spoken out about education. She is now said to be one of  ‘The 100 Most Influential People in the World’ and co-received the Novel Peace Prize in 2014, aged 17 years old.

So what makes a bold woman?

 

What all the women above have in common is a purpose. An inner calling to do what it is that they believe in. To be true to themselves.. These women are great women to remember this International Women’s Day. They were fully aware of their values and fully aligned to their purpose. That gave them the energy and the confidence to pursue their very different dreams and beliefs. 

 

Now we won’t all have a purpose maybe as big as theirs but EVERY. SINGLE. WOMAN. has:

  • A heart
  • Desires
  • Potential
  • A purpose
  • Values
  • Dreams
  • And the ability to be bold

I see it all the time in my Hypnotherapy practice. People who have let life get in the way and they’ve forgotten these bits of themselves. Then we start doing some ‘work of the self’ and there they are. Eyes brighter and sparkling, remembering those parts of themselves that they’d forgotten. Their fire ignited and that inner strength alive.

What will your bold thing be?

Being bold can be anything! It doesn’t have to change the world, it just needs to feel brave to you. How about:

If you are dealing with a phobia or anxiety it might be:

  • Putting a spider out by yourself
  • Driving on a motorway
  • Flying without fear
  • Giving a presentation

If you are depressed it might be:

  • Telling someone how you are feeling
  • Leaving the house
  • Making new friends
  • Seeking some help

If you want to lose weight it might be:

  • Commiting to a date to start healthy eating
  • Joining a gym
  • Getting a bike
  • Telling people you want to change
  • Admitting to yourself you aren’t really happy as you are

If you lack confidence it might be:

  • Stop being a people pleaser
  • Saying ‘no’ to people who scare you
  • Saying what you really think
  • Starting a new hobby
  • Speaking to new people

 

Show the world your bold!

Being a bold woman is being who you really are. Showing the world who you are. Not being afraid to be different. Not being afraid to speak up or speak out. You can be bold in your own time and on your terms.

You can have a great job, run a business, bring up children, travel, be single or in relationship. Your life can be whatever you want it to be. You might just need to be bold to make it so.