First off…Happy Mother’s Day to all! Hoping all of you enjoyed your day: celebrating the amazing women who helped to give us life or brought light to our lives. I wanted to take this opportunity to send a heartfelt “thank you” to all of those women who have made astounding impacts on our lives everyday…those seen and those who are, literally, behind the scenes.
Breaking the Rules…
“Difficult” Women
I was scrolling through the news feeds on my phone this afternoon, (during naptime of course), when I came across an amazing article on National Geographic titled : Difficult Women Who Wrote Their Own Rules. This article is an interview with the Karen Karbo, the author of In Praise of Difficult Women. Her book focuses on a select group of twenty-nine women who were really anything but “difficult”. Instead, it celebrates women who were portrayed, through the eyes of society, as “difficult”. Despite criticism, these women stayed true to themselves, and continued to shine. They followed their dreams, wrote their own rules and created a life they loved. I wanted to send this article out to all of you as I was so deeply inspired by these carefully selected women; some of whose stories I knew and others, I only briefly glimpsed at.
Karen Karbo, the author of this amazing book, speaks so profoundly, not only of the women she has highlighted, but to all women. To you and to me. To your daughters, your grandmothers, your moms. Her words are so poignant that they prompted some serious self-reflection. I began to think “what am I doing to act on my dreams? Where am I in the stages of crafting a life that I love?
If you don’t care too much what people think, you risk being called a difficult woman because you’re not staying in your lane or doing what is expected of you. For the most part, any time a woman doesn’t do that she can be called difficult. When a woman inconveniences somebody she can be called difficult. A woman who believes her own needs, goals, and desires are at least as important as everyone around her risks being called difficult.(Karbo)
What is “Difficult” and Why is it Women?
How much of the above quote made you pause and say “wow-nooo kidding?!” I mean, how easy is it for even women to call other women “difficult”. How often have you heard “oh, she’s difficult to work with” or “watch out, she’s difficult to talk to”. Why? Have you ever asked why these women who you were warned about, (or warned others about), were so “difficult”? Perhaps these woman just have a different way of thinking and…HOLD ON…DON”T actually care about conforming to make others feel comfortable. Wow. Definitely a different way of looking at the term “difficult”, isn’t it?
Would you consider women like Carrie Fisher to Ameila Earhart to be “difficult”? Karbo’s book highlights these women whose lives were meticulously messy (all in best ways possible). She features J.K. Rowling (who she describes as “scrappy”) and Rachel Maddow, ( a “brainy” lady who people passed by as a “know it all”). Certainly, being “difficult”, as Karbo reveals, might not make life easier. But it can make it more fulfilling–whatever that means for you.
Inspirational? Without a doubt. Motivational? The interview alone made me want to purchase the book. A must-read? In my opinion, ABSOLUTELY!
LOVE What you see? Want more? We’ve GOT it! Check out ways for you to take those first steps so you can dream AND achieve (really–you can have your cake and eat it too) HERE: