Last week as we celebrated International Women’s Day, I came home and wanted to watch something that might inspire me even just a little bit. Thus, I checked out TED talks (my go to inspirational website), and I was not disappointed in the slightest when I chose to watch a TED talk by Reshma Saujani, titled ‘Teach girls bravery, not perfection’. It immediately started ringing bells of familiarity in my brain, and made me go yes, yes, yes!
I personally struggle with the attainment of perfection on a regular basis, or at least regularly enough to make me want to eagerly watch this talk. I hope you take 13 minutes out of your day to watch this Ted Talk and who knows, maybe Saujani’s words and her philosophy of bravery will connect with you too.
The avoidance of risk, but more importantly the notion of failure, of imperfection, is something I believe a lot of us encounter daily. Whether it’s at school, at work, on that date you’ve been looking forward to, or that interview you just got. This talk digs deeper and highlights the gendered differences in our society, the socialising of our boys and girls in terms of bravery and perfection. This talk truly emphasises to me that we should teach our girls/young ladies/women to be brave, rather than perfect. Because as we all know, perfection does not exist. Bravery, on the other hand, is something worth achieving.
So let’s be brave ladies, and go after those interviews. Those jobs which might seem out of reach. Those social gatherings which make us nervous. Those projects which seem unattainable. Let’s not delete over and over again. Let’s not leave those pages blank. Let’s go for it! Because as Neil Gaiman points out “If you dare nothing, then when the day is over, nothing is all you will have gained.”
It is never too late to start.
So practice being brave NOT perfect.
I know I will.
Photo Credit: Jovita Adom.