What does it mean to be strong?

How do you know when you feel strong? If there were no mirrors, no such thing as physical appearance, and no societal determinations of what it meant to be strong, how would you be able to tell when you feel strong? Is it a physical sensation? A mental outlook or resilience? A combination of both?

Maybe you’re reading this wondering if you’ve ever truly experienced your own strength.

It can be easy to trick ourselves into thinking we’re being “strong” based on how others perceive us. In a non-physical way, we are seen by others as strong if we grin and bear it, if we just power through no matter the detriment to us. We are seen as strong if we don’t allow obstacles to hold us back.

But to what extent?

In an attempt to just suck it up and keep moving forward as though we’re are made out of steel, we end up masking our emotions and vulnerabilities - continuing to move through life with this “you can’t f*ck with me” mindset. But is this truly strength? Or is this an opportunity for us to not have to feel, and then even worse, be rewarded by others for doing so.

We work late, we sacrifice our sleep, our social life, our health, just to prove to others that we’re strong and worthy of some desired outcome. The interesting part of this is that in doing so, we’re seeking validation for our own internal sense of worth.

I think strength is a mind, body, soul sorta thing. Not a, “Watch me, I can do anything!”, situation. When you truly get in tune with your body, taking out any one component -mind, body, soul - of this strength formula becomes very noticeable. You can almost pinpoint which areas of your life are calling for your attention and nurturing.

Here’s the thing to remember, no one is perfectly strong. It’s not like we meet this ultimate sense of strength and then we’re good to go. It’s a constant work in progress. And your STRENGTH is defined by acknowledging that and choosing to continue progressing throughout your life.

To me, strength is knowing that you are inherently worthy of stepping into your most empowered, lit up, beautifully vulnerable self - mind, body, soul. 

What’s your definition?

xo, Em