Own Your Inner Badass

I’d like to share the recent epiphany I had about being “badass.” I was flicking through my You’re a Badass calendar that a friend gave me. She told me that I am one, and that sometimes I need something to remind me—the calendar helps.

But that got me thinking …. Why do we need to be reminded of our badassness? As women, often when we take on a new challenge—take that leap, negative thoughts of “What if I can’t…” run through our minds. They can quickly become overpowering and undermine our confidence. On the other hand, when we see other people achieve great things, we assume that that person has some ability that we don’t; we then pick ourselves apart based on our own insecurities. But what I’ve come to realize is that when I achieve great things, or even mediocre things, others think I am amazing. That came as a shock to me.

I do my best with the tools I’ve got—my knowledge and experience. But sometimes, I feel like I’m winging it. Recently, I realized that I’m actually not winging it, I’m just a tad outside my comfort zone. I may be feeling insecure, but other people don’t know that. That was my epiphany; when I think someone has special abilities that let them achieve something amazing, they too may feel as exposed and vulnerable as I do. But they’re still trying new and scary things, and making it look effortless.

Once I realized that, I began to use my epiphany to calm my swirling doubts and negative “what if” scenarios by remembering what is true for almost everyone leaping into new challenges—you don’t know what is going to happen. By realizing that most of the time nobody else knows what they are doing either, and getting the courage to grab those new experiences, chase those new clients, take that new leadership role, and look like you’re a badass doing it (even if you think you are winging it), the leap gets a little easier.

Today’s words of wisdom from my calendar are exactly on point: “Hurl yourself into the fire. Run face first toward your biggest fear. Take big, audacious action in the direction of your dreams, and don’t let the fact that you’re wetting your pants stop you.” That is badass, and I am too. And don’t forget, so are you.