 Written by Susan Golicic, PhD, CPIC Many people entered 2017 with hesitation, fear and anxiety about how things would change due to the new administration. How would we as individuals be treated? Would there be discriminatory practices and regulations due to the beliefs of those in the new leadership? Several have spoken out, and many have protested. As we fight for what we believe in, are we really getting the message we want delivered across? Current generations have grown up with/after the civil rights movement with the goal to end racial segregation and obtain civil rights for black Americans. We have also experienced the feminist movement – the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of equality of the sexes. These are only two areas of possible discrimination. We have many differences besides race and gender – there is also age, sexual orientation, religious affiliation. And even if we are the same race, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, we are still different. Equality – what most say they are fighting for – is the state of being equal or being the same. But we are not the same. I don’t believe we want to be the same. As a woman, I don’t want to be the same as a man. We do want the same rights and opportunities as others. We want to be treated fairly and impartially, regardless of what we look like, where we came from, and what we believe in and practice. Being treated fairly and impartially is actually the definition of equity. I recently read a book called Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. This novel brilliantly tackles the still-present concerns around prejudice, race and justice. In the book, the author (through her characters) explains that equality is treating everyone the same. It is equal to give the same printed test to two students, but if one is blind, that doesn’t work! Equity, on the other hand, is taking differences into account so everyone has a chance to succeed – giving the students the same test but in different forms. While the book presents just one area of prejudice, it provides a beautiful example of learning to accept each other and appreciate our differences. The differences are what makes us individual and makes us each beautiful! Words are really the meaning we give them. So whether you choose to use the word equality or equity or even something else in your fight for fairness, just be sure those you are communicating with understand what you are actually striving for as understanding is often important for acceptance. SUSAN GOLICIC, PhD, CPIC |
| | Allison Johanson is a licensed clinical social worker with a passion for giving women the skills to manage difficult transitions in their lives which may leave their careers stagnant. Allison works in both a psychotherapy private practice and through speaking engagements in order to fit the needs of a wide variety of people. Allison's mission is to help as many women as possible become as successful as they possibly can be. |
You’re about two weeks into 2017. How are those resolutions going?
Surely, for most of us, our resolutions have run the gamut from disciplined diligence to wavering slightly to…well, let’s not talk about abandoned just yet.
Aristotle famously wrote, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore is not an act, but a habit”. This takes time though and we are all bound to have days when our motivation wavers and the first excuse chips away at the foundation of a newly developed habit.
If you’re feeling that niggle of self doubt, we’ve pulled together a motivation space to which you can turn in your hour of need. There’s something in this collection for everything you might be feeling. And, if there is something in particular that has helped you, add it to comments to share with the community!
Surely, for most of us, our resolutions have run the gamut from disciplined diligence to wavering slightly to…well, let’s not talk about abandoned just yet.
Aristotle famously wrote, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore is not an act, but a habit”. This takes time though and we are all bound to have days when our motivation wavers and the first excuse chips away at the foundation of a newly developed habit.
If you’re feeling that niggle of self doubt, we’ve pulled together a motivation space to which you can turn in your hour of need. There’s something in this collection for everything you might be feeling. And, if there is something in particular that has helped you, add it to comments to share with the community!
PERSEVERANCE
Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. And, when you stumble, keep faith. And, when you’re knocked down, get right back up and never listen to anyone else who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on - Hillary Clinton
If you're going through hell keep going. - Winston Churchill
No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist. - Anonymous
Power’s not given to you. You have to take it. - Beyonce
People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing--that's why we recommend it daily. - Zig Ziglar
Perseverance is failing nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth. - Julie Andrews
PASSION
If you have an idea, you have to believe in yourself or no one else will. - Sarah Michelle Gellar
Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value. - Albert Einstein
Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives. - Michelle Obama
I did not have the most experience in the industry or the most money, but I cared the most.
- Sara Blakely
I think the truth of the matter is, people who end up as ‘first’ don’t actually set out to be first. They set out to do something they love and it just so happens that they are the first to do it. - Condoleezza Rice
Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it. - Maya Angelou
COURAGE
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of fear. - Mark Twain
Run to the fire; don’t hide from it. - Meg Whitman
[My mother] told me that fear was not an option. I was always told that women are stronger, so I believed it. - Diane Von Furstenberg
We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes -- understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success. - Arianna Huffington
Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others. - Amelia Earhart
Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. And, when you stumble, keep faith. And, when you’re knocked down, get right back up and never listen to anyone else who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on - Hillary Clinton
If you're going through hell keep going. - Winston Churchill
No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist. - Anonymous
Power’s not given to you. You have to take it. - Beyonce
People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing--that's why we recommend it daily. - Zig Ziglar
Perseverance is failing nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth. - Julie Andrews
PASSION
If you have an idea, you have to believe in yourself or no one else will. - Sarah Michelle Gellar
Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value. - Albert Einstein
Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives. - Michelle Obama
I did not have the most experience in the industry or the most money, but I cared the most.
- Sara Blakely
I think the truth of the matter is, people who end up as ‘first’ don’t actually set out to be first. They set out to do something they love and it just so happens that they are the first to do it. - Condoleezza Rice
Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it. - Maya Angelou
COURAGE
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of fear. - Mark Twain
Run to the fire; don’t hide from it. - Meg Whitman
[My mother] told me that fear was not an option. I was always told that women are stronger, so I believed it. - Diane Von Furstenberg
We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes -- understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success. - Arianna Huffington
Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others. - Amelia Earhart
RSS Feed