What do you do when stuck between a rock and a hard place? To and fro from head to heart? Dither over a decision? There’s that familiar pull in the pit of your stomach but there is still something stopping you from taking the plunge. Time to awaken your alpha femme – she’s in there somewhere and she can help you to have confidence in your decision making.
The thing is, as a female entrepreneur, you’re more often than not damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Sometimes, making the decision isn’t always the hardest part. It’s what comes after. Critics will always wait in the wings for you to trip and fall. Sneering at your failures or picking holes in your success. So, now is the time to pay less attention to others and centre in on your instincts.
We all know that decisions based on your gut feeling are not highly esteemed in business. How unprofessional to make a decision without mapping out every step you took. It is almost as if your opinion is not valid without a graph in one hand and a survey in the other, despite knowing your true self and following the path that you want to take.
As human beings living in an age of science, we have become accustomed to making rational decisions. It is how we make sense of a world that truly does not. We are creatures of habit and if we ponder over reason and consequence enough, tuning into our intuition begins to feel all the more unnatural.
Women work twice as hard every day to earn the same credibility as their male counterparts. By making decisions based on emotion we sometimes feel like we are proving those stereotypes about women in business to be true. The truth is – we often find that we are adjusting our true selves to please men. Be unapologetically yourself.
Enter, your alpha femme. The alpha femme is a spectrum, existing in all women. These 5 steps by Kate Gerald will help to engage your inner alpha to make pivotal decisions based on instinct, regardless of what the critics say.
Empower
The first step is to empower yourself and your fellow females. How can we combat sexism when we practice internalised misogyny daily? By continuing a narrative that was made to oppress us, we are upholding a patriarchy amongst ourselves. We need to call ourselves out and notice when we are tearing each other down. By collaborating with other women and building each other up we are giving ourselves opportunities for growth and empowerment.
Value
Once we start valuing each other, we can truly value ourselves. Value your own credibility, your achievements and what makes you, you. You do not have to compete with other people for you to be worthy yourself. By having enough confidence in yourself, you will be able to go with your gut feelings more freely.
Acknowledge
When you allow your mind to rest, your mind opens up and allows your thoughts and emotions to flow through. Become acutely self-aware – emotional intelligence is king (or queen) when awakening the alpha femme. By gaining emotional intelligence you will become someone who can lead people, whilst simultaneously gaining their respect as an equal and with that, you will become a better decision maker.
Trust
You are the boss of your own mind. When you begin to trust yourself, you leave less room for contemplation. It is easy to over think your options and get waylaid. When you do this, you put up unnecessary barriers that didn’t exist ten minutes ago and you’re back to thinking your initial idea wasn’t all that good anyway. Don’t sabotage yourself. Have faith.
Act
Finally, stop procrastinating and start doing. We are all guilty of putting things off and have read countless content on how to combat it. The truth is, when you feel passionate about a decision you will be more inclined to follow it. Take that gut feeling and make it happen. Act impulsively and true to you. So, what are you waiting for? The time is now.
