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What Does International Womens Day Mean To You?

I wasn’t planning to write a blog post today … I was kind of thinking that it might be nice to leave the launch post of this blog up for a bit, especially as the tips from all of those Women Incredible are so great to come back to a few days after the first read. Buuuutttt … I guess you can just go ahead and click back there anyway, and after all – what better day to write a blog post for Woman Incredible than on International Women’s Day?

You may be as ill-informed as I was until a few hours back, but International Women’s Day has been around since the early 1900’s, and it is an annual and global day to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. I’m not one to get too caught up in conventional women’s movements, but I do think it’s kinda nice to have a special day just for us; a day to reflect on what it means to be a woman. And even if you had never heard of it until today, why not stop for a moment and think about what you’re proud of achieving either as an individual or en masse as a beautiful and incredible femme?

Something I love to do when I think of it is to write a grateful list. To be quite frank, I’m not in the mood for pondering or gratitude at all after an especially hectic day – I just want to drink some wine and get through my emails (I know; big aspirations right?!)

But, in honour of ALL of us incredible women, here goes. Your turn next πŸ™‚

1. I am thankful for my beautiful daughter and for the very special gift that it is to be a Mum

2. I am grateful that I live in an era where it’s both normal and even encouraged to be an athletic and strong woman.

3. I am thankful for all the amazing women who support and inspire me, both on and offline. From my Mum, to my sister, my good friends, to all of the incredible women on the afore-mentioned launch post, to every client who I see who does what it takes to take control of their body and their life, to some of my MOST awe-inspiring fellow Poliquin practitioners, to YOU and all of my readers for whom I blog and who take the time to let me know what my writing means to you.

4. I am grateful for good wine and quality chocolate, and I’m even grateful for the stereotypes about women and wine and chocolate! That’s a stereotype I’m happy to live up to!

5. I am grateful to my amazing business coach for gently but oh-so-firmly pushing me in the direction I knew I needed to go this year with my blogging and my business.

6. I am thankful that I have a husband who supports me in following my dreams and didn’t freak out when I announced I was reducing my income by half (stopping personal training) in order to follow my passion of becoming a ‘real’ writer.

7. I am incredibly thankful for those friends of mine who know where I’m coming from when I refuse to accept ‘good’ as enough, whether it be physically, in my business, or in life in general – and who encourage me to push past my limits. (And I’m thankful to you for letting me do the same thing for you!)

8. I am so thankful for all of the amazing women (and men!) around the web who’ve demonstrated faith in me by having me write guest posts for their blogs, or approaching me for freelance work, or even showing my work to top magazine editors, or simply by tweeting and sharing my stuff.

9. Oh – and I’m grateful that I live in a time where all you need to follow your passion and create your dream life is a laptop and an internet connection (and some wine and chocolate of course!)

10. I’m thankful for things that gets me thinking – from my favourite books, to a note from a friend telling me that today is International Women’s Day, to the ridiculously giving nature of my mentor Charles Poliquin and everyone who I study with through the Poliquin Institute, to great conversation with good friends, to observing the rapid and determined development of my daughter as she already finds her place in the world.

What does International Women’s Day mean to me? It means all of these things, but mostly, it means this; right now. Thinking about this sort of stuff, writing about it, and ultimately, just knowing that I’m not alone in the challenges I face or in my wins or even in my random but weird thoughts and questionings about myself and the world. Knowing that only another woman can really understand some of the wacky but wonderful things that go on in my mind.

I think that’s pretty cool.

So – your turn. How about you; what does it mean to you to be a strong and achieving woman? Comment below!

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7 responses to “What Does International Womens Day Mean To You?”

  1. Steph says:

    Hey Kat, so glad you mentioned IWD as I worked with women’s development organisations in South Africa and also here in Melbourne so it’s something that means a lot to me.

    I think the important thing to remember is that when you put everything into perspective, you will realise that being able to diet and exercise like you talk about in your blog is in fact an absolute luxury that many women around the world just don’t have, yet we treat it as a chore a lot of the time.

    So instead of loathing the thought of waking up at 5am tomorrow morning to go to the gym, I really should be thankful that:
    a) I can afford the gym
    b) I can feel safe that I won’t be robbed/attacked on my way to the gym
    c) I know how to use the gym equipment
    (all things we unfortunately take for granted)

    πŸ™‚

    • Kat says:

      Steph, that is such a beautiful comment. It really does drive home what it means to be a woman in the western world as opposed to in many less fortunate countries. Thankyou so much for your thoughts πŸ™‚

  2. Clare says:

    Yes its good to be grateful for the good things in our life Kat! I am grateful for the gift of a healthy body and the ability to exercise, not everyone is as fortunate.
    I’m enjoying Woman Incredible by the way, Thankx

  3. Channing says:

    I have to piggy back on #6! I am thankful for my husband who is 10,000 miles away and supports all my decisions, even the ones where I’m spending more money than expected (i.e. my Masters program with out of state tuition). I am thankful he supports my decision to work from home and part time to be able to focus on our daughter. I am thankful he doesn’t disagree with the amount of money I spend on raw foods and grass fed meats, etc. and let’s me take control of the kitchen (no tortillas, cereal, pasta, muffins, white rice, sugar or crackers :). Husbands who support wives in their endeavors to be incredible ROCK and make being a woman AWESOME!

    • Kat says:

      Hey Channing … that’s definitely a tough one for a lot of women; getting the man to agree on spending so much money on quality food! Awesome to hear what a supportive environment you have at home πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

  4. Vivek Parmar says:

    First visit to our blog and that too coincidence, its a womens day. Happy Women’s day