 In the wake of Alexei Navalny's final message to “be scared of nothing,” something clicked in me. Maybe it’s not more positivity we need. Maybe it’s bravery. As a wellness professional, I've been immersed in and surrounded by calls for positivity. "Name 3 good things! Seek out the good! Keep a positive mindset!" Positivity – or so we’ve been told – is foundational to wellbeing. But positivity often falls short and feels hollow. And if you’re a leader or a manager, a blanket of positivity is not necessarily what your team is craving, especially in a time of so much uncertainty. So, what if we focused more on being BRAVE?
Being brave is especially timely as Women’s History Month wraps up. The common thread amongst the women that we admire year after year – women like Amelia Earhart, Harriet Tubman, Jane Austen, and Shirley Chisholm – is COURAGE. These women inspire us to stand firm in our beliefs, to change lives, and to make waves within our spheres of influence. While we may never be as brave as these women (or, for that matter, as brave as Navalny was), heroes like these women (and men) can teach us how we, too, can live a little more courageously. Here are three ways we can live more bravely: (As a caveat, since it’s Women’s History Month, I’m steering this more toward women. But, men, you can still take note.) 1. As we age, we can trade out “playing it safe” for being even braver. From being called “ma’am” (ugh - don’t get me started on that…) to having a punk call me “an arrogant, old lady” (WHAT?!?) to being told that I’m an “ugly c__t” (when I called out a man for harassing a younger woman), I am feeling the sting of gendered ageism. If you can relate, I assure you that a recent The New York Times essay by Caroline Paul will inspire you. In “My Mother Got on a Bike. It Changed Her Life,” Paul shares her mother’s remarkable journey from heartbreak to cycling badassery, beginning at age 62. She then paints a meaningful template for how women can cultivate a better mindset toward aging in our youth-obsessed culture. To be clear, the negative messaging that we women receive around aging is real. As the essay notes, women are hammered with notions about “fading looks, frail bones, cognitive decline, no cultural significance." But what if we countered these all-too-real messages by doubling down on bravery? Instead of buying into the mindset of being “too old,” what if we looked at aging as an opportunity to take more risks – instead of less? What if we leaned more into experiences of exhilaration, exploration, and awe? It’s never too late to become ME AT MY BEST®. (Check out my 30-minute course.) 2. We can bravely use our voices “We are so much more powerful than we realize. We have been talked out of our power.” — from my recent LinkedIn Live with Denise Hamilton, author of Indivisible What all of these notable women in history also share is the courage to use their voices. Certainly, this is what Navalny did – over and over again. He relentlessly used his voice, which ultimately cost him his life. Now, his wife Yulia has stepped forward to fill the void. In her recent emotional video, she spoke about how this stems both from a desire to carry forward his legacy, but also out of her love for Russia. She described how she now draws strength from her husband - “in his memories, in his ideas, in his thoughts, in his inexhaustible trust in us.” We can all take a cue from Alexei – and now Yulia – to bravely use our voices. 3. We can bravely elevate other women. Women represent 48% of entry-level positions, according to a 2023 report from McKinsey. But further up the food chain, the percentages precipitously drop from 40% (manager level) to 36% (director level) to 28% (executive level). It seems that we are still far from the aspirational slogan: “You’ve come a long way, baby!” So, what can we do about these depressing statistics? We can elevate other women – which is critical, according to Kat Cole, COO and President of AG1. Watch my recent conversation with Kat as she shares about her brave journey to the top – and how helping other women to succeed has been a key part of that journey. Perhaps, though, my longtime hero Arianna Huffington said it best: "Women tend to think of careers in terms of ladders, going up to shatter the glass ceiling. That’s great, but while we’re going up, let’s also look to each side, and widen the ladder, not just climb it." How might you help to “widen the ladder” for other women? Here are some inspiring examples of women who have:
Better wellbeing = more bravery Reflecting on a recent keynote in Romania, I can’t say that it went exactly the way I would have liked, but I can say that I acted bravely. Throughout the talk, I encountered multiple technology challenges, and in the midst of everything falling apart, I persisted. Bravery, as it turns out, is what matters the most in the end, as Bronnie Ware, a longtime hospice nurse, learned in her conversations with the dying. The top regret she heard over and over again: “I wish I had lived a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.” Bravery is something that we all need to be bringing forth, whether it’s standing up for our political beliefs or being brave enough to carve out a meaningful career path for ourselves. So perhaps how well things actually turn out—for any of us—is less important than how brave we are throughout. Because what matters is the risks we take and the acts of courage we undertake. And as Winnie the Pooh assured each of us, “You are braver than you think.” Unleash your inner genius in my 30-minute course, ME AT MY BEST®. See what’s inside.
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