International Women’s Day: Are You Making a Difference?

March 8, 2024, is International Women’s Day, an opportunity to celebrate women’s accomplishments and advocate gender equality.

I want to twist this and ask you, ladies (and gents), “Do you feel like there is something more you should be doing with your life?”

Before you answer, please let me explain what I mean…

Before starting at Couponlab, I was a home business owner working almost exclusively with women since 2005, and I was a Girl Scout leader from 2002 to 2011. I’m amazed and humbled by the greatness I’ve seen in the women around me in all areas of my life: my daughters, grandmothers, mom, mother-in-law, sister, friends, and coworkers. If harnessed, the insight, talent, compassion, and strength inside each of them would be a power beyond measure. But more often than not, we don’t see it, can’t see it, or refuse to see it.

We go through our lives looking for meaning, wanting to make a difference, and feeling like there is something more we could or should be doing with our lives. We have dreams we don’t act on and callings we ignore.

Here we are, living in a peaceful country with abundant resources at our fingertips and the power to communicate our message across the globe with the click of a mouse. And yet we remain quiet, hiding behind our busy lives, avoiding the risks of facing our fears of inadequacy.

It’s heartbreaking to me that only a small number of people take the risk to push past their fears to leave a legacy compared to the number of people with a dream.

There are times in our lives when the excitement or the pain gets strong enough that we make plans and take some action toward achieving our goals, but for many or most of us, insecurities and self-doubt end up holding us back. We get so far, and then we hit the panic point where we instinctively pull back instead of pushing past our fears.

How are you making a difference in your family, community, and profession? If you feel like you were meant for something more, but you’re not sure what that looks like, here are some questions to help you turn your dream into a mission and then into a movement.

1. WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?

• We all have different skills, strengths, and gifts, but we take them for granted and assume that if something comes easily to us, it also does to everyone else. I am a terrible cook, but I love to write. My husband is the exact opposite of me. When working on our strengths, we’re happy, unstressed, and able to step into our greatness.

Action Step: Make a list of your traits and strengths. If you’re struggling with that, list things you lose track of time doing and what makes you feel alive inside. What gifts and skills do you possess that could help others?

2. WHAT IS YOUR MISSION?

• I struggled to choose a major in college. I had five of them. I was so afraid I’d make the wrong choice that I avoided making one until I was forced to. Deciding what we stand for in life and making it our mission can be just as tricky.

Action Step: A coach once helped me get clear on my mission by asking me to answer one or both of the following questions, “What breaks your heart? and What pisses you off?” You won’t be able to follow through on something you don’t feel passionate about.

3. WHAT OBSTACLES WILL YOU FACE?

• I am great at new ideas and getting things going, but in many areas of my life, I fall short when I hit a point of fear of following through on my actions. It feels like insecurity, lack of faith, worrying what others will think, or being distracted by a shiny new opportunity. Personal development gurus call it the Terror Barrier. That point is when you have to decide to work through the fear.

Action Step: Think about your past experiences and determine what stopped you from following through. Being aware of when you typically pull back throughout the process of growth and what feelings instigated your retreat will help you to be able to push past it in the future.

4. WHO CAN HELP YOU?

• You’ve got skills and talent that can help others…who has the talent and skills to help you achieve your goals? Couponlab couldn’t exist without the teamwork approach to bringing you deals and coupons and supporting this community. Everyone has their specialty. Who has the thing you need? Who knows the people you need to network with?

Action Step: Make a list of your “social equity.” Who do you know who can help you acquire the resources, networking opportunities, or skills necessary to help you turn your mission into a movement? In addition to your “social equity,” finding a life coach, colleague, or someone who will hold you accountable and point out where you’re not playing altogether out is beneficial. It can be helpful to push past the terror barrier.

5. WHAT IS YOUR REWARD?

• The desire to make a difference has been hard-wired into all of us, but to pull through the fear, we need to get clear on why we are doing it. Maybe it’s the feeling of accomplishment, to earn more so you can give more, or the reward of enjoying what you do. Success is never about the money; it’s about what the money can do.

Action Step: Figure out why you want to make a difference. What is your reward for success? Make a list of all the benefits of succeeding in your mission. Add to the list as you achieve some of these benefits, and think of new ones.

So, back to my question, “Do you feel like there is something more you should be doing with your life?” Is there a dying dream inside of you or a calling you’ve been ignoring? Maybe today is the day to change that.

Share your mission in the comments below or on our Facebook page. Maybe we can help turn your task into a movement!

Happy International Women’s Day!

WIN A SPA BASKET FROM 1800 BASKETS IN HONOR OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

At Couponlab HQ, we love our moms, sisters, girlfriends, wives, daughters, and women in general. We were excited about International Women’s Day and decided to do something lovely to honor our wonderful audience and the women in our lives. So, in honor of International Women’s Day, we have teamed up with 1800 Baskets on a luxurious spa basket. We all know a lady that needs a little bit of time to herself or needs a gift just because.

She’ll love the tropical feel of this sturdy orange canvas gift basket bin filled with great products. Let that extraordinary woman in your life pamper herself with an array of products from Exclusively Spa®, including Lime & Citrus Body Lotion, Lime & Citrus Body Scrub, Lime & Citrus Body Splash, Lime & Citrus Bath Salts, and more. This unique gift includes everything she needs to refresh, reflect, relax, and renew!

INCLUDED IS:

• Arrives tied with a lime green, orange, and yellow raffia bow
• Orange Canvas Bin with handles
• Yellow Flip Flop Shaped Vanilla Iced Sugar Cookie – Yum!
• Exclusively Spa® Lime & Citrus Body Lotion
• Exclusively Spa® Lime & Citrus Body Scrub
• Exclusively Spa® Lime & Citrus Body Splash
• Exclusively Spa® Lime & Citrus Bath Salts
• Measures 11-1/2”Hx6”Wx10”L

Total value is $39.99

ABOUT 1800 BASKETS:

1800BASKETS.COM crafts our gift baskets with dedicated artistry, so the presentation will always be perfect. Our gift baskets are a sensory experience filled with high-quality gourmet foods, wines, gifts, and fresh fruit. At 1800BASKETS.COM, we are passionate about connecting people through thoughtful gift-giving

HOW TO WIN THE SPA BASKET FROM 1800 BASKETS:

You must be a Couponlab member, but there are plenty of ways to enter. You can earn a different number of entries for each type of entry. Comment, tweet, pin, follow, like, and circle us — the more you do, the more entries you get! This sweepstake ends on March 9th, at noon CST. The winner will be randomly picked through Rafflecopter and posted on this blog.

Good Luck!