When Women Support Each Other, Incredible Things Happen!

JOY Contributor: Kathy Cragin

Friends! This summer I went to Rachel Hollis’ Rise Convention. Oh My Motivational Weekend!! I came home with my head buzzing from all the amazing words of advice from a variety of speakers. I heard some phenomenal words and, after putting them all through my personal God-filter, I walked out of there a changed woman!

I was recently asked to speak at the upcoming WEW (Women Empowering Women) meeting about my experience at Rise. How in the world do I squeeze all of that enthusiasm and energy and powerful stuff into one hour?! I decided to focus on my 6 Biggest Take-Aways: the stuff that I am applying to my life now.

The first concept is the “I am not _________ enough” statement. We often have something negative we tell ourselves that gets in the way of us achieving our goals. What is that statement for you? We’ll talk about how to create a combat statement for every time the “I am not ________ enough” comment rears its ugly head.

The second one is something everybody has, is, or will deal with in their life….and probably deal with numerous times! (This concept is a perspective shift, and it takes time to develop.) Bad things happen, life gets tough, people are mean, and you have to choose how to view and respond to the negative. It’s easy to let it get you into a funk. However, it is life-changing when you start viewing the tough stuff as a chance to grow and become a more awesome YOU!

The third is a BIGGIE for you people pleasers out there! (You can’t see me, but I’m raising BOTH of my hands!) There was a necklace available at the convention and it was a pair of beautiful cursive words that simply said, “Not Sorry.” Friends: if you are constantly saying Yes to everyone else, then you are pretty much telling you and your future goals: “Nope!” It is so HARD to say No to people, but if it doesn’t line up with the God-given gut feeling of what you’re supposed to be doing with your life, perhaps you need to “slow down your yeses and speed up your no’s.” (Quote credit: Rachel Hollis, of course.)

This fourth one specifically applies to our WEW group and is simple: Be each other’s cheerleaders. Sometimes it’s hard to see a friend succeed while you feel like you’re just sitting on the bleachers, but we are a team! We should strive to build each other up, not tear each other down. So cheer! Because that’s what you would want us to do for you, right?!

The fifth one is what she calls Same You/New Mood. It is a method to get you out of a funk and into focus. For me, this was probably the biggest thing I started employing: music! Music is a mood changer. The short version: find the songs that energize you, motivate you, and, when you can’t get moving, add some music! 

Lastly, but probably most importantly: goal setting. Rach, as I like to call her, walked us through a process of goal-setting but also helped us start goal-achieving. First you have to dream big, my friends! Then you start on one specific dream and write down ALL the things that you need to do to make that goal happen. Then you’re going to get even more specific and start with the most important steps that need to be taken to get to your dream. Before you know it, you’ve created a road map to get from Right Now to your DREAM!!

And for a little bonus:

Back in January, I listened to a podcast by Rachel Hollis that a good friend referred to me. It has changed my morning routine and has influenced my perspective on each day and made my life handle-able. The simple formula is this: I have a bullet journal (any notebook will work), where I write down 10 things I am grateful for, 10 goals for the next 10 years (Yes, I write the same goals out everyday as if they had already happened for me!), and I make my To Do List for the day. It’s simple, but it works. I am more grateful, focused, and able to see my day all in a matter of a few minutes. I’ll share this at the upcoming WEW meeting as well. I hope you’ll be able to join us!