By: Angie Falls
Just the other day I came across an article about Winston Churchill. The part that stuck with me;
Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.” —Winston Churchill
The focus was on Winston Churchill being stubborn and determined.
What happens when you realise your path is entrepreneurship rather than employment? Lindsay takes up the challenge and shares an account of her journey as it unfolds…
And then – all at once, an unrelated series of pick-me-ups came in!! Is this it? Is this the start of a turnaround? Continue reading
By: Angie Falls
An ongoing challenge in life for working women or not?
What is the meaning of work-life balance?
Work-life balance is a concept including the proper prioritization of work (career and ambition) and lifestyle (health, pleasure, leisure, family).
The expression “work-life balance” was first used in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s to describe the balance between an individual’s work and personal life.
Work-life balance has been addressed by some employers and has been seen as a benefit to them. Employees with a good work-life balance are efficiently productive and have a happy experience of their job.
In a recent article of World Economic Forum it turned out that;
The Dutch have the best work-life balance.
The Netherlands has overtaken Denmark as the country with the best work-life balance. That is according to the latest OECD Better Life Index, which ranks countries on how successfully households mix work, family commitments and personal life, among other factors.
Even after all these statements we still face challenges in achieving a proper work-life balance on a micro level. Working women who have children experience even more demands on time, energy and resources.
I believe that this is also a result of the interaction with direct team members. The group pressure is one of the factors to be considered in realising a solid work-life balance. In the corporate environment, we need to be bold to set our own rules as women and then see what the result will be. Fear is one of the factors that hold us back. Fear to lose our job and furthermore we feel guilty all the time. Only when we can overcome or let go of that fear and guilt we will be liberated and be able to handle the work-life balance on our own terms.
As working women, we easily get the tag that we should not prioritize our work above family.
Actually, why is that not positive? Let women decide for themselves! We are all in different situations and we all should be allowed to put our own priorities.
I feel proud that I am able to put my family first and then my job on the second place. This is how I want it. I do not feel like proving myself all the time. In the end, it is all about life and what we find important in leading a successful life in general. We should define our own criteria for work-life balance instead of being dictated by society (or our direct team members).
This is the only way we can break the barriers of the contemporary mindset on this topic.
Your story, our platform: If you’ve got a story and would like to share it with other Femflectors, please let us know. Femflection is all about transferring learnings to help others, be they big or subtle. We want to connect with your feelings, your learnings, your reflections or your hopes for the future – in blog or interview format. Express yourself here. Get in touch with us via anja.uitdehaag@femflection.com
For more content visit our website http://www.femflection.com
What happens when you realise your path is entrepreneurship rather than employment? Lindsay takes up the challenge and shares an account of her journey as it unfolds…
Last time I wrote to you, I was talking about resilience. It’s about bouncing back and being adaptive. And to be adaptive with a young business you really have to have your radar on full power: what exactly are we dealing with here? What kind of animal is this?
It’s like a join-the-dots puzzle. Once you can figure out the constellation, it all fits into place and everything is possible. This seems to apply to lots of situations. A couple of hypothetical examples:
By: Angie Falls
It makes sense to first have a good understanding of the word.
A coordinator is a person whose job is to organize events or activities and to collaborate with others to ensure they work together effectively and bring results.
In my profession, as a coordinator, I get the opportunity to work with people from different non-profit organizations. What strikes me is that these days too many people have lost passion in what they do daily. We all must make a living but can’t we have fun when doing so?
This lack of passion effects the people they should be helping in their function. It results in a decline in performance.
There was this case where I was working on when I discovered that the educational psychologist was not effective in her profession. She was deviating from the course that should be properly supporting a student. With her a mentor and a leader for learning. The collaboration between these 3 parties was not what it should have been. I had a few meetings and shared my advice and opinion on the matter. Straightforward and to the point regarding where we should focus on and which process to follow in this specific case.
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?”– Marianne Williamson
I am pre-programmed to question myself: can I really do this? What if people don’t like what I have done?
When self-doubts creep in, I get highly sensitive and quick to take things personally. Or – when things have not gone as expected – I just do nothing and give in to the disappointment.
I am not only afraid of failure; being successful is scary as well! Imagine the changes success could potentially bring? Do I really deserve it? What happens when I am going to lose it again? And of course: how are my friends and family going to react? Will I lose their love and acceptance because of envy, jealousy and resentment?
Self-doubt can make you feel inadequate, overwhelmed and insecure. As a result you don’t do the things you need to do, are scared to try new activities and lose the motivation to perform.
To become more confident, stop thinking so much and act.
If you are constantly thinking that you are not good enough or that you will never make it, that is what you will believe and that will become your reality.
Next time you experience fear, ask yourself “What is the worst thing that could happen?” Acknowledge your fear and then let it go. Remind yourself that worst case scenario’s are nothing but products of the imagination and that they rarely come to fruition.
Your story, our platform: If you’ve got a story and would like to share it with other Femflectors, please let us know. Femflection is all about transferring learnings to help others, be they big or subtle. We want to connect with your feelings, your learnings, your reflections or your hopes for the future – in blog or interview format. Express yourself here. Get in touch with us via anja.uitdehaag@femflection.com
For more content visit our website http://www.femflection.com
By: Anja Uitdehaag
“If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.” — Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
All kids dream big. They want to be super famous, super meaningful, super powerful superheroes. (I used to spend quite a bit of time dreaming about doing something special and be famous for making a positive difference to the whole world in my own way.)
As we mature, these dreams are typically educated out of us. With age comes “wisdom” and a more “practical” perspective. We lower our expectations and often fear failure and risk taking.
Such a shame!
What happens when you realise your path is entrepreneurship rather than employment? Lindsay takes up the challenge and shares an account of her journey as it unfolds…
Hi again – I’ve been blogging with Femflections for just over a year now and thanks to those who have been reading and sent over good vibes during that time. As you know, it’s been a tougher ride than I thought it would be so far and now I’m going to send some good vibes out back to you, whoever you are, just because I can 😊.
What happens when you realise your path is entrepreneurship rather than employment? Lindsay takes up the challenge and shares an account of her journey as it unfolds…
They say that if you keep doing what you always did, you get what you always got.
Here are four things I’m going to do differently in 2018 so that I get different results from the ones I got in 2017:
By: Angie Falls
In my view, managers are facilitators of their team members’ success. They ensure that their team members have everything they need to be productive and successful; that they’re well trained, happy and have minimal roadblocks in their path; that they’re being groomed for the next level; that they are recognized for great performance and coached through their challenges.
It has been now 6 years that I am at an organization where I have performed in a team with 2 different managers.
Help you to succeed in life and work 