A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article about what it means to be bold, with the purpose of empowering young girls and gender non-conforming youth. After thinking about this topic in more detail, I realized that this is a message for everyone regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, or background.
In my article, I defined being bold as:
“Cultivating confidence and courage to embrace all facets of our identity. It’s about being bold in your everyday actions and not limiting yourself. It is not mentioned enough, especially to young girls or gender non-confirming youth, that their identity is not singular. It’s multi-dimensional and can be a source of strength and power. Ultimately, if you cultivate the confidence and courage needed to embrace your identities, you can be your full self. Be bold so you can be anything and everything at once.”
Now that we have a clear definition of what it means to be bold, let’s discuss some of the benefits.
Being bold allows you to:
- Discover Your Voice: Finding the confidence and courage to embrace all facets of your identity is the foundation for your unique voice. This means using your voice to create your personal brand, differentiating yourself from others, and advocating for what is meaningful to you.
- Be Ambitious: Being bold allows you to gain clarity in setting the right goals and the motivation to effectively execute plans to achieve those goals.
- Radiate Confidence: Once you know who you are, what you want, your likes and dislikes, you radiate confidence that is magnetic.
- Find Your Passion: Being bold gives you the energy to pursue opportunities that may take you out of your comfort zone. As you break boundaries for new opportunities you will identify your passions.
- Lead an Exciting Life: Being bold is energizing and comes with the euphoria of living life to its fullest. It allows one to be excited for the future and what is ahead.
- Accept Fear: Being bold does not mean that you are fearless. It means one accepts fears and is not hindered by that fear to the point of inaction. Taking action can lead to success, but when it leads to failure, it’s an opportunity to learn and try again.
- Embrace Your Identities: Being bold allows you to embrace and leverage the strengths that are inherent in your identities. It gives you the power to stay true to who you are while working towards your goals.
Being bold is not limited to the seven benefits listed above, the benefits are endless. I encourage everyone to take five minutes out of their day to think about ways in which they can Be Bold.
