Knowing Yourself: Lessons From Meghan Markle
It was very interesting watching the royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. It was unconventional to see Meghan Markle, HRH The Duchess of Sussex, walk down the aisle alone. Assumptions were made on the meaning of this gesture, some seeing it as a feminist move, and others seeing it as a strong statement that she was voluntarily giving herself to her husband to be. Since, the Duchess of Sussex has not publicly expressed her reasons we can only speculate. However ALVN, A Lady’s Voice Network, chooses to see this gesture as an object lesson. This much was clear: It was not a traditional move, it was bold and highly personal, and it was clearly her will. So what can every woman take away from this?
Acceptance of Self: To be able to do something that is against the norm is only possible when you are so comfortable with yourself you don’t really care what others think. Acceptance of self is a sign of maturity. When we accept ourselves we have come to the point of realizing that what we are made of, the experiences we have encountered, and our strength and weaknesses are all part of us, and ok. Many of us spend so much time being hard on ourselves, wishing we were someone else, or that we didn’t have a certain flaw and inability. This is not accepting of self, and all it does is make us most critical, and easily manipulated.
Healthy Self Esteem: A healthy self esteem will guard us against responding and being affected by criticism, trying to please others, and being passive. For example, HRH Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, could have listened to some of the criticism spat against her joining the royal family, and in response towed the line perfectly if she was unhealthy in her esteem and needing to please others. No action towards a goal will be accomplished without a healthy self esteem because someone somewhere will criticize or disapprove or have an opinion on what you say and do.
ALVN, A Lady’s Voice Network, is very aware that many of us are in different stages of our lives: self discovery and growth, self analysis and introspection, and various stages of self improvement. Whatever we are working on starts from the inside, how we see ourselves and how much we love and accept ourselves. What steps can be taken to improved? There are books, podcasts, and conferences to aid in development however ALVN offers a unique product: movies and personal interviews. We hope as we continue to upload them and you continue to watch them you will get stronger, healthier, more successful and ever sure of yourself.
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