Tell Our Story
Much has been written about the sacrifice of women in this unprecedented time and we have boundless memes and odes to the plight of working women, turned teacher, caretaker and housekeeper.
But have we paused to examine the reality that ensues with boundless disruptions and women's achievement? The positive psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is credited with our understanding of the state of flow — or being in the zone. In his Ted Talk, he states “There’s this focus that, once it becomes intense, leads to a sense of ecstasy, a sense of clarity…You know that what you need to do is possible to do, even though difficult, and sense of time disappears, you forget yourself, you feel part of something larger.” Flow and being “in the zone” is the complete absorption in your work. Something seemingly impossible these days. If “Flow” is the gateway to achievement, artistic expression, and transformational discovery…should we expect a decline in this level of creativity and achievement in women DTC (Due to COVID)?
52.1% Of our audience have been in their career for over a decade with work and family challenges.
78% Of our audience seek health and wellness resources online
100% Of women living in a state of overwhelm, whose time has been interrupted.
In 2019, the Washington Post Pulitzer prize winning author Brigid Schulte, wrote, in what we're dubbing required reading , “A woman’s greatest enemy? A lack of time to herself” that “Women’s time has been interrupted and fragmented throughout history, the rhythms of their days circumscribed by the sisyphean tasks of housework, childcare and kin work — keeping family and community ties strong. If what it takes to create are long stretches of uninterrupted, concentrated time, time you can choose to do with as you will, time that you can control, that’s something women have never had the luxury to expect, at least not without getting slammed for unseemly selfishness.'' She continues to describe a pre-covid study that found that uninterrupted time for mothers lasted no more than 10 minutes. DTC, I suspect this number goes down dramatically to 2–3minutes.
A pre-covid study that found that uninterrupted time for mothers lasted no more than 10 minutes. DTC, I suspect this number goes down dramatically to 2–3minutes.
With schools resuming, teachers resigning/striking, homeschooling trials and error, social stresses of injustices, isolation and unending expectation of women…what’s a woman, womaning to do? Tell our story
A friend, we’ll call her “Sandra”, sent me this text last week
Sandra: “Hey — I need a break. Any interest in having a HH drink?”;
Me: “I have the kids, but you can come through. I have white and red and can open a bottle”.
We sat on the deck, telling our stories…taking the time to know that we are indeed not insane…and acknowledging the reality of the current times and the added intensity of home-life and the sisyphean tasks that we are all enduring. The next morning, Sandra sent this text:
“Thank u again. Truly woke up this morning feeling like a huge weight was lifted. lol the power of sharing. it’s crazy when u don’t realize what u need.”
Telling our stories can create a state of sustainability: defined as the avoidance of depletion in order to maintain balance. Can we achieve balance, and thereby health and wellness by sharing our stories with one another? In a recent conversation with Jessica Conick, we share our stories…as fellow entrepreneurs still in Corporate America, purveyors of sustainable fashion and curators of community. Jessica is a skilled story-teller and discusses her work with telling brand stories and provides a useful and easy framework to share our own stories. Listen to hear her advice on storytelling and stay for the conversation on sustainability both in fashion and in grinding for success.
sustainability: the avoidance of depletion in order to maintain balance
I am reminded by The Badass Workshop’s sessions by Bozoma Saint John on the best ways to synergistically share our stories. TLDR: identify 3–4 friends and be intentional in knowing their stories and sharing it in rooms that you’re in. The synergy amplifies our voices. In the era of limited time punctuated by endless interruptions, these strategies could be a lever to dislodge the emotional weight of being overwhelmed.
Stories not only ground us, they also help us relate to others and the world around us. In the book “Contagious: why things catch on” by Jonah Berger, we’re reminded that stories are the spark that spread wildfire.
