#likeagirl

We’ve all heard phrases like “you throw like a girl” or “you run like a girl.” Unfortunately these words come off at first as something negative. A recent television advertising campaign that challenges these innuendos left me thinking about what it means to me to be “like a girl.” What do I value about being a girl? What do I want to instill in my daughters about confidence and loving themselves?

I don’t know about you, but I feel like there is much pressure on girls and women: Pressure to look a certain way, to keep our homes perfectly clean and decorated, to have our kids dressed in the most up-to-date trends and take the most darling pictures of them to share on social media, to blog, to contribute financially to the family, to make healthy meals for our families and still make it to the gym. The list goes on and on.

Truth be told, these pressures can easily bring a mama down! As I think about all these pressures, though, I realize something: None of them have anything to do with what I really value about being a girl.

Being “like a girl” actually has nothing to do with “how” you do something. It doesn’t matter how fast you run, how clean your house is or how many followers you have on Instagram. Rather, it has everything to do with “why” you do things. The reasons why we do things are important because, most of the time, the reason why we do something is because of the way it makes us feel, makes other people feel or the confidence it provides.

As women (wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, friends), we have the power to influence others and create powerful change. We have the ability to be tough, but we can also be sensitive.

Being “like a girl” should never be an insult. It’s a compliment to the amazing things you are and can become. Let’s join together to create stronger versions of ourselves, build each other up and change the community and world we live in for the better.