Creating Balance for Better: Insights from Stella Photi

International Women’s Day is about celebrating women’s accomplishments and promoting gender parity. This year’s theme, #balanceforbetter, leans towards gender balance in business, politics, sports and wealth, to name a few walks of life - what a wonderful vision. One that I am proud to support and encourage.

I have, however, taken the liberty to extend this thought further. For me, it means finding our balance and power by connecting with our inherent feminine intelligence. Not trying to emulate the traditional traits of male power that we have been conditioned to follow, but to be proud of our female qualities and trust our innate wisdom.   

Over the years, I have spoken to many highly stressed women, whether they are clients, friends or colleagues. Yes, the stress undoubtedly comes from hectic lifestyles and demanding jobs. Alongside the exhaustion there’s usually an underlying theme of not being in balance. This is compounded by the fear of failure or missing out, and the weariness from having to be competitive and fighting for what is due to them. I have also suffered from this, so I totally get it.   

So, I would like to take this opportunity to remind us of some of our female qualities. Let’s try and balance these with some of the more positive traditional male qualities, such as assertiveness, independence and strength to achieve our own #balanceforbetter:  

• Empathetic – putting yourself in the shoes of another to understand their position
• Kind – being generous, considerate and friendly 
• Collaborative – working together towards a shared goal 
• Intuitive – connecting with your inner voice to follow your own instinct (which is usually the best course of action) 
• Vulnerable – by being open about who you really are and sometimes, your fears, you can connect on a deeper level with others. No longer seen as a weakness thanks to the fabulous work done by Brene Brown!

Happy International Women’s Day! 

Stella
x 

Ready to embrace your divine femininity this International Women’s Day? Take a look at these inspiring retreats for women here.