Last Friday I attended the annual Women's Summit, sponsored by Kendra Scott Women's Entrepreneurial and Leadership Institute. Day was filled with inspirational and motivational speeches by incredible women.

​Here are the biggest nuggets of wisdom I took from 2023 Women’s Summit:

• Someone’s greatness doesn’t take away from yours

 

• When you don’t have anyone to look up to, look inwards

 

• If you want something - ask, don’t expect for it to come to you

 

• Think big! And if you’re not at least a little bit scared, you’re not thinking big

 

• Always believe something wonderful is about to happen (my favorite!!)

 

• Don’t take yourself seriously

 

• Every “No” is a beginning of an opportunity

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• Always be curious and keep learning

​Oh and did I mention that I met a powerhouse Kendra Scott and gifted her my Returning to Yourself guided journal? That happened! Check! :)

Don’t use anyone’s success against yourself. Be inspired by it, be motivated by it, but don’t take it as an evidence that they’re better or more capable than you.

There’s no competition because success is not limited to a selected few.
 
You are not competing with anyone, so let go of the idea that anyone else is better or more capable or smarter than you.
 
Don’t use your mental energy and creativity on collecting evidence against yourself, because the more you’re looking around and focusing on what everyone else is doing, you’re taking the time away from focusing on you.
 
Everyone has a different starting point, different obstacles, different opportunities, and gifts.
 
You are meant to do it your way!

Check out this blog post for a quick reminder on success and comparison. 

​We often follow rules for life that don’t belong to us. They have been passed onto us at an early age, but these are not our rules.
 
We didn’t create them from our desires, curiosities and wants. We simply had to adapt to and follow them in order to fit in and survive.
 
When we live by someone else’s rules, we keep ourself in situations that drain us, we pressure ourselves to work for something that’s doesn’t give us fulfillment, and we force ourselves to want something that doesn’t make us happy.
 
We have the responsibility to examine the parts of our lives in which we blindly follow rules that don’t support our self-determination and freedom.
 
Now we get to decide what rules no longer apply to who we are today. We get to create our own blueprint based on our real curiosities and desires.
 
Here are some questions that will help you identify old rules you might be living by. These are  great for reflection and journaling: 

• What am I doing because I think I should, not because I want?
• What am I forcing myself to like/want, but I genuinely don’t like/want?
• In what aspect of my life do I feel most limited? 
• If I believed I could, what’s one thing I would stop doing today?
• If I believed I could, what’s one thing I would stop doing today?

 
If you feel stuck in a never ending loop of self-analysis and trying to move forward, it’s a good time to bring in a fresh perspective.
 
Therapy is a great place to be challenged to face what’s not working and to be encouraged to discover what does. 

Life doesn’t start once you get to where you want to be…
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You don’t need to first heal, lose weight, learn more, achieve goals, be in a relationship, or make more money, to finally live your life. The process of “getting there” IS life.
 
The way you feel now as you’re working towards the things you want is the way you will feel once you have them. Learn how to feel good, while working towards your goals.