For all the women out there, be proud of what you do and do what you do for?yourselves!

It's been a while since I've written a post and this one is not on small businesses, but for all women out there, giving you some food for thought!

The last few months have been a rollercoaster on multiple fronts for all of us and as I've had some down time, I've been fortunate that it's given some time to think and reflect. Sharing some important lessons that I've learnt over the years - I hope this will spark something in you and inspire either you or someone you know to do something different: 

Do what you do for Yourself: There is a lot of talk on mental health with Covid-19 and the changes it has brought about to our lifestyle and while our support system has been super important in keeping us sane and we're thankful for the time we have got to spend with our families, there are times in your life, in fact, many times, where you will find yourself alone - everyone has their own unique journey, your thoughts, your reflections, your passion and your legacy that you will leave behind with the people that you have touched with your life. Our families and near and dear ones act as influencers - some positive pushing us along further and some negative, holding us back - but ultimately, it is we ourselves that carve out our path in this world and are responsible for our actions. As the saying goes, that we come alone in this world and while many are part of our journey, we leave alone as well.

Women, often are known to do things for others, but spend little time on themselves or thinking about what is important to them. So my advice to all the young and older women out there (as I believe its never too late) is that it's important to be independent and have your own identity - its important to embark on that journey for yourself and for your own sense of accomplishment. What you do should not only be for your family or husband or parents or kids, but for YOURSELF. You need to believe in it and give it your 100%. And for those of you who believe you can't, just try and the path will become clear on its own. Trust me.

I attended a workshop on women leadership some months back and a very well known, respected and accomplished lady talked about how in an awards function, she saw many women go up on the stage and thank different members of their family - "I have won this award thanks to my husband who has supported me or my in-laws or my parents etc.", but when she won an award, she was bold enough to say that she have won this award because of herself, her dedication, passion and hard-work. That really struck a note with me as most of the times, women usually shy away from taking credit or acknowledging ambition.

Be proud of what you do, be independent and most importantly, do it for yourself. Give yourself the chance to leave your own legacy and do your bit to leave this world a better place for having lived in it.

Balance in life is so important, balance it before you lose it: we often get caught up in deadlines, work, driven by passion or ambition or whatever it is that drives us. Technology has changed our lives for the better and has brought us closer, but it has also its share in creating distances - as we get caught up in a device filled world. Today, I see even our parents spending so much time on their phones on social apps or WhatsApp. Times have changed.

I can't stress enough to people I know that they need to find that balance - yes, may seem tough at first, but we just need to try harder. Make a list of what's important to you - health, spending time with loved ones, a personal goal you had set for yourself and then compartmentalise these and create time for them in your schedule. Yes, go ahead, treat yourself to shutting down your machine on a Friday evening and opening it Monday morning for a change. Tough when you are used to checking your email every hour on your mobile, but nothing when compared to the joy in your loved ones eyes or for that matter, your own satisfaction of having read that book that had been lying on your table for so long!

I also believe that it is us that have the responsibility to bring up the next generation, so I would encourage you to pause and teach them the simple things in life that we cherish during the times when we grew up - yes, not to get caught up in the stress of online studies, but go ahead and take that device free day on the weekend, where you go for a hike or play board games or build something together with your kids.

Don't stop learning: take a course, learn a new subject, read a book; reading will broaden your thinking, will make you a better, happier person. And write, whether its in a blog or a journal - there are so many experiences that we go through that could be beneficial to other people - I feel writing opens up the world to us and helps others around us by sharing similar experiences. I recently signed up for a course on an online learning platform on a topic not anywhere related to my work and it helped show a different side to things.

Hope this article made you take a pause and think, if it did, mission accomplished for me :-).