You are your only limit, your only obstacle.
To address feelings of being ‘stuck’ and unmotivated in this current climate, 20 Canberran women gathered at Proximity, a legal, commercial and professional services firm in Barton, on Tuesday, September 29 from 5:30 to 7:30pm. The night kicked off with a glass of Australian bubbles and the most colourful grazing platter from GoodGrazed, a new Canberra business run by local gal, Sophie Roper.
Led by Nicole Patricia from NCONIC, the two hour interactive workshop focused on inspiring everyone to harness what they wanted for their lives and work on steps to achieve it. NCONIC is a Canberra-based confidence coaching service for overwhelmed Millennials, and Nicole, the founder, focuses on helping clients confidently step outside their comfort zones and fearlessly achieve their goals.
“Let’s start by focusing on redefining how the “F” word impacts out actions”, said Nicole. “That’s right, I said the F word.”
Nicole was talking about the word ‘failure’, which she considers just as taboo in conversation as its profane counterpart. No one talks about their failures, even though failure is something everyone has experienced.. Under Nicole’s instruction, one by one, every woman was asked about the failures in their lives right now. Is it daunting to admit failure to yourself, let alone a room of 20 strangers? “Yeah no thanks”, I thought to myself. “I’m out.”
However, watching the courage the other women had to openly discuss their failures inspired me to share mine. And you know what? It was healing. I realised that my failures weren’t as big and embarrassing once I said them out loud. In fact, my failures acted as a guide with what I’m actually supposed to do with my life.
Upon reflection I realised that this is why we do what we do at the CBR Gals Network. It isn’t about the sheer action of sharing failures, just as it isn’t about getting a glass of bubbles with the gals. It’s something more than that. It’s bringing women together for a greater purpose. It’s that, when women support other women, magic happens.
When women support other women, magic happens.
This was the second event of its kind in the Empow(her)ed Workshop series (the first was in July of 2019). The aim of these workshops is to help women achieve who it is that they want to be, while keeping in mind that women do not need to be ‘fixed’. They need to be given the tools and environment that are most conducive to their success.
This year has created many challenges for society, both physically and mentally. Finding a way to overcome these challenges is not always easy nor is it always obvious. But it takes a purposeful step in the right direction to overcome these challenges. As Nicole reminded us, “the only obstacle between you and success, is your mindset”. Changing the way you approach a situation and taking the time to outline what it is you are aiming for gives you a foundation.
Nicole explained that the first step to success is awareness. Awareness for who you are, what it is exactly that you want in the next year, five years, or ten years. Being aware of what you are willing to work for and what you might sacrifice in order to achieve your goals is a crucial step in reaching your goals. “Establishing boundaries now will aid in sculpting the goals you have and pushing yourself further to achieve these.”
Sounds easy right? We all know that changing our opinions and viewpoints can be incredibly challenging. But Nicole was not suggesting doing a complete 180 and changing everything tomorrow. She reminded us to be aware of our goals and begin by carving out the scenario that would make those goals most likely to happen. That can be simply applying for a job that you have been thinking of, or attending an event you previously would not feel like attending. Small changes in your everyday life can lead you to finally making the bigger changes to your mindset and attitude.
Feedback from the event
98% said they’d recommend this event to a friend, and walked away knowing “that your mind has control of all the actions and decisions you take.”. As another one of the attendees remarked, the event served to “remind that my biggest walls I feel I face are challenges that I can also choose to remove too”.
This event was brought to you by...
The Empow(her)ed Workshop series reminds everyone that sometimes, it only takes one small step within a supportive environment to become the gal of your dreams.
SHANNON BECKWITH
Vice President (2019-2020) of the CBR Gals Network Board. @ShannonBeckwith
Author: The CBR Gals Network
The CBR Gals Network is a feminist not-for-profit organisation established in 2018.