Empowered Women, Empower Women

September 28, 2020

Two Everyday Women empowering others to have a more positive self-image

Ever heard the Oprah quote, “Surround yourself only with people who will lift you higher”?

A woman on her own is powerful, and when we raise each other up, we can be impactful AF. There are old stereotypes that women don’t support other women, but research has shown that ladies in leadership roles are often backed by a pack of fierce female friends who helped them get to the top of their game.

I want to celebrate two of my personal favourite Everyday Women who are empowering others to love themselves just as they are.

The fact is that self-image among women in Australia and around the world is not where we need it to be.

Better Health Vic estimates that 80% of Australian women are somehow dissatisfied with themselves and suffer from a negative self-image. Eighty. Per cent.

As in only one in five women likes herself just as she is.

Ready to find out how you can become your very own Mark Darcy? Read on.

Physical self-image role model: Taryn Brumfitt, Founder of The Body Image Movement
“Our bodies are more than ornaments – they are the vehicles to achieving our dreams.”

The most obvious form of self-image is the physical. A former “Body Loather,” Taryn is a kickarse Everyday Woman, on a mission to end the global body-hating that is the experience of so many women of every shape, size, and age.

She is based in Adelaide with her kids, but she has 300 Ambassadors around the world, working to smash the idea that looks or weight determine worth.

Taryn walks the walk as an internationally-recognised keynote speaker, best-selling author, and director of Embrace, a social-change documentary you should probably put on your must-watch list.

Because aging is a privilege; body diversity is beautiful, and we need to celebrate our bodies for all that they can and will do for us, not criticise them for flesh, folds, or wrinkles. Amen.

Follow Taryn Brumfitt on Instagram.

Emotional self-image guru: Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

"Resilience is our shared genetic inheritance."

Emotional self-image is just as important, and if any of you were as lucky as I was to catch Elizabeth Gilbert in Melbourne a few months back, you’ll know why she’s high up on my list. I could talk about Liz all day - she just has a way of getting to the heart of an issue and seeing the entire picture for what it is.

Her core message is that there will be disasters (we’re actually living through one now). We will lose control. But what’s bigger than that is the resilience that comes from it when we learn how strong we are emotionally.

It’s about loving yourself and showing yourself compassion the way you would show it to your best friend. It’s about what you need to walk away from (or who to let go of), in order to see the full picture and live a happier life. Pretty transformational stuff.

“I think sometimes our emotions about our emotions become a bigger problem, so if you're feeling frightened and anxious, and then you're layering shame on top of that because you feel like you should be handling it better, or you should be doing your isolation better, or you should be creating more while you're alone, or you should be serving the world in some better way, now you've just multiplied the suffering, right? So I think that the antidote for that, first of all, is just a really warm, loving dose of compassion and mercy towards yourself, because if you're in anxiety, you're a person who is suffering right now, and that deserves a show of mercy.”

You can listen to the whole Elizabeth Gilbert TED talk here, and I highly recommend it. Pairs well with a hot bubble bath and some self-care time, just saying.

Follow Elizabeth Gilbert on Instagram.

So anytime you feel yourself slipping down the path, hearing those negative voices in your head saying you aren’t enough, please try to have compassion for yourself and remember you are only human. You are wonderful. And you are doing great.

If you want to acknowledge a woman in your life who makes you feel empowered, pop over to our socials to tell us who would be on your empowering women list.

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