No person is your
friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow. -Alice Walker
Silence about a thing
just magnifies it. -TENNESSEE WILLIAMS,
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
I am reading two books
and I would like to share some thoughts about them. These books are How Can I Get Through to You?: Closing the Intimacy Gap
Between Men and Women
and Lean
In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
. Both of these books have one thing in common,
how women are silent about many things that we should not be afraid to say. Some of this silence is because of our own
shortened self-confidence while some of it comes from stereotypical views of
the world. In the workplace, women tend
to stand in the background holding us back from filling higher-ranking positions. In our marriage, we silence ourselves because
we feel as though we are unheard or overburdened.
and Lean
In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Both of these books have one thing in common,
how women are silent about many things that we should not be afraid to say. Some of this silence is because of our own
shortened self-confidence while some of it comes from stereotypical views of
the world. In the workplace, women tend
to stand in the background holding us back from filling higher-ranking positions. In our marriage, we silence ourselves because
we feel as though we are unheard or overburdened.
How Can I Get Through to You?: Closing the Intimacy Gap
Between Men and Women contains
some straightforward advice for women
(and men) regarding recapturing our marriages through effective
communication. Women need their
emotional needs to be met by their spouse but often do not speak-up to tell
their spouse what they truly need.
Healthy marriages are built upon a healthy foundation of communication
and mutual respect; we must continually restore our marriage everyday in order
to preserve the sanctity and relational intimacy of our relationship. We must communicate authentically with our
spouse in order to ensure that our marriage does not fall into a state of
disrepair. I know this on a personal level
because I tend to stay silent when I should be sharing the deepest parts of me
with my spouse. I am silent because I am
afraid and I was raised in a way that taught me that women should grin in bear
it; this is not real life and we should not be silent just to keep the peace.
contains
some straightforward advice for women
(and men) regarding recapturing our marriages through effective
communication. Women need their
emotional needs to be met by their spouse but often do not speak-up to tell
their spouse what they truly need.
Healthy marriages are built upon a healthy foundation of communication
and mutual respect; we must continually restore our marriage everyday in order
to preserve the sanctity and relational intimacy of our relationship. We must communicate authentically with our
spouse in order to ensure that our marriage does not fall into a state of
disrepair. I know this on a personal level
because I tend to stay silent when I should be sharing the deepest parts of me
with my spouse. I am silent because I am
afraid and I was raised in a way that taught me that women should grin in bear
it; this is not real life and we should not be silent just to keep the peace.
Lean
In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead speaks
about the role women play in the workplace and how we tend to sit in the
background and not use our voices for fear of criticism or being thought of as
too direct. Women are making great
strides to break through the proverbial glass ceiling but we need to speak up
more often to see the workplace culture change.
We have to do this for our daughters that will be moving into these
positions in the future. We have to
speak up and realize that a passive attitude toward our career is
unacceptable. We have to ask the tough
questions and demand that our voice be heard because we ARE qualified to share
our opinions otherwise women will continue to go unheard.
speaks
about the role women play in the workplace and how we tend to sit in the
background and not use our voices for fear of criticism or being thought of as
too direct. Women are making great
strides to break through the proverbial glass ceiling but we need to speak up
more often to see the workplace culture change.
We have to do this for our daughters that will be moving into these
positions in the future. We have to
speak up and realize that a passive attitude toward our career is
unacceptable. We have to ask the tough
questions and demand that our voice be heard because we ARE qualified to share
our opinions otherwise women will continue to go unheard.
I share these thoughts
because I personally struggle with that internal voice telling me that I am not
good enough, not qualified, or not valued enough to speak up at home and in the
workplace. I need to continue to build
my internal courage to tell myself that I can have those conversations that
will build my marriage and my career. I
do not want to be silent anymore. What
are your thoughts?
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