Unstoppable.
Unstoppable girls. Unstoppable dreams. Unstoppable voices and actions to save lives.
Unstoppable is my one word takeaway from the 2013 Mom 2.0 Summit held in Laguna Niguel. But more than a recap of this social media conference, unstoppable is a symbol of why there is no choice but to dream big, why we must use our voices for good, and why whether we are bloggers, writers, moms, dads…we have a responsibility that is bigger than ourselves.
Unstoppable Girls
Did you know that six out of ten girls stop doing what they love? The why and how of this statistic goes back to self esteem, confidence and perspectives about ourselves. Except that as moms of daughters, mentors, teachers and neighbors to girls, we must do better. Girls must believe in themselves and have the tools to navigate through the ups and downs of life without giving up on what they love. Dove is ready to celebrate girls everywhere as part of their Girls Unstoppable campaign, celebrating girls everywhere that refuse to give up. Get involved by sharing the story of an unstoppable girl you know, or by asking yourself if your actions are something that your daughter would be proud of. Or maybe…try standing in front of the mirror with your daughter, each sharing things you LOVE about yourself.
Unstoppable Dreams
Another way to be unstoppable is to push through professional fears. Too often, we let our big dreams fall by the wayside. What if instead, we reminded ourselves that as Elan Morgan said, that “you cannot give of what you have if you don’t know what you’ve got.” Instead of undervaluing ourselves, we must as Meg Keene reminds us, bet on ourselves. Remembering that what we do has impact. Because of course there are going to be days that our dreams seem far away, or difficult. Of course we are going to meet nay sayers. But what if we focus on, “find someone who gets us” as Erica Ehm encourages us, instead of letting our dreams die. That is what makes our dreams unstoppable after all….being brave enough to push through, day after day.
Unstoppable Futures
Unstoppable girls and dreams lead to unstoppable futures. For us, but also for children that are born in developing countries. Children that have the potential to grow up and be everyday heroes, or athletes like paralympian Dennis Ogbe. Children that should not die from a disease that is 100% preventable by a vaccine. We live in a world, Aaron Sherinian of the UN Foundation says, that one day soon, girls will wake up and realize that all the rules have changed. They will have changed because they realize that their voice matters, that their voice has power. One day soon our children will realize that they themselves are the change agents. That their voice can help their global peers near and far.
We have a responsibility to be unstoppable. For our daughters, for our careers, and dreams, and for the futures of many.
The question is….how will you be unstoppable today?
This first appeared in Live Do Grow.