I'm a Badass?

I was hanging out with a friend the other day and the conversation of the studio, my goals, and such came up. My friend said to me “You are a Badass!” I was a little taken aback because that’s not how I’ve ever described myself! I was also very grateful for the compliment and at the same time not sure I was worthy of it.

The next day I went running - that’s where I do my best thinking and I mulled over our conversation. I thought about the idea of me … little ol me … being a badass! I thought about how I’d define badass. Here’s what I came up with.

• Independent woman - Well I did move to Nashville solo and then Lexington solo and made both my home

• Entrepreneur/business owner - Thanks to 12South Pilates and now Shine Pilates I get to check this box off!

• Someone who has dealt with and overcome adversity - double check no need to rehash the past here!

• Someone who is not a victim - I never want to be a victim and certainly hope I own my stuff and can check this box

• Someone who is a role model - Hmm I hope so - at a minimum I aspire to be kind and practice what I preach!

What this exercise showed me was I wasn’t giving myself enough credit. When I look at other women who have done what I have or done their own ‘badass’ version - I am in awe and impressed. I realized, however, I wasn’t taking credit for my hard work, resilience and the calculated risks I took. How can I applaud someone else and downplay my own accomplishments?

I don’t think I am alone here. I actually think as women we tend to not ‘Shine” as much as we should. We give credit to others, we down play what we’ve done as anyone could have done it … but they didn’t! And this the key - we actually did it.

Moving forward - I’m going to take credit and own my badass-ness! Which is not the same as boasting or bragging but instead taking pride in myself. I’ll celebrate my successes and using them to propel me to the next success. I’m also going to use them to remind me when things don’t go my way that I’ve done a lot and a little won’t get me down or hold me back.

I encourage you to take stock of what makes you a badass. If you aren’t sure - ask a close friend and I bet you’ll be surprised with what they see in you that maybe you’ve missed! Use that for encouragement and motivation. I know I am surrounded by other badasses - they just may not realize it yet! Ask me - and I’ll tell you what I see in you ;-) Choose to Shine with me!