Think As Inc

Choosing Empowerment

September 2, 2009 on 2:11 am | In life coaching | No Comments

At a corporate-sponsored lunch for working mothers, one of the recurring themes discussed was how unsupportive the corporate environment was.  The company did not have family-friendly policies.  Colleagues were covertly resentful.  Spouses were not pulling their weight. 

In a similar vein, I recently read an article on Zoe Cruz in The Glass Hammer.  “Last Woman Standing: The Firing of Zoe Cruz”  http://www.theglasshammer.com/news/2008/05/07/last-woman-standing-the-firing-of-zoe-cruz/  The article provides an illuminating case on gender discrimination even in the uppermost echelons of the workplace.

The points made by the moms and by the article were compelling to me.  At the same time, playing the blame game was exhausting and made it harder to concentrate on my work.  Even if all the arguments are true, and it is harder for me to succeed as a parent, a woman (and you can find similar arguments for minorities which covers me as well…it’s like an obstacle trifecta!) then what?

In a fight between you and the world, bet on the world. – Franz Kafka 

I often find myself saying things like “that’s just the way it is…”   It’s as if one should give up and bet on the world. 

Yet, in the choice between blame and empowerment, I choose empowerment and to bet on myself.  I choose to believe that I have enough (skills, networks, determination) to succeed.  It is hard enough to parent and build a business and create art and find appropriately priced real estate (still!) without focusing on whether or not there are additional obstacles set against me. 

I hear many people talk about external challenges (the market’s not good, the timing’s not right, something about the world is conspiring against them).  Many times, they are accurate in what they describe.  But there are enough alternative examples, if you choose to pay attention to those instead, of people who manage somehow, anyway.  It’s much more empowering to know that you can find a way.  In a fight between you and the world, choose empowerment.