Adrenaline versus Happiness - What did Maria seek?

In the last few weeks I've been trying out a new insight on women, which is the happiness versus adrenaline rush experience. Is what we seek sometimes an adrenaline rush - that moment when we're taking big risks, completing an unknown project, being given responsibility greater than we've had before? At these times are brains are firing on all cylinders, and others had better get out of the way or they'll be caught in the cross-fire of energy working towards nailing the challenge. Happiness though can most definitely come without an adrenaline rush - I consider it that swooshy, calm, tingly moment and can come from the just doing something right, receiving a letter, finishing a book, watching kids play, being thanked for doing something. I think its a very different sense of place.

I was watching the Sound of Music with my kids the other day, and I realized that even Maria had a desperate need for an adrenaline rush. Have you ever found yourself singing, 'I have confidence in sunshine' in the middle of your work day? I have, sometimes its lyrics like that help me pretend to be in charge and get through my day. But look at the opening words.

What will this day be like? I wonder.
What will my future be? I wonder.

It could be so exciting to be out in the world, to be free.
My heart should be wildly rejoicing

Oh, what's the matter with me?

Maria isn't unhappy but she's seeking adventure and more. Once we have responsibilities how do we fulfill this need for adventure that still exists when we're happy? How do women achieve balance between happiness and adrenaline rush, maybe what underlies the work/life balance question - maybe it really is an adrenaline/happiness balance we should be seeking. Something inside us holds us back sometimes from physical dangerous activities as we consider who would look after our kids if we were injured, or some have taken less strenuous jobs so as to not be a crazy-mad woman around the house during work down time.

As for me, when I did change to a less adrenaline rush job when my kids got into school and we gave up the nanny, so I could balance life, however to pick up the rush I took up horse riding with my daughter. Now I have to admit there were times when I was thinking it would have been more sensible to have a mental challenge than clinging to a horse for dear life as it careened around corners after going over fences - but it did fulfill the rush.

When it comes to taking risks we (both men and women) hold a different bar for women than men. I wince whenever I hear about a woman going off for a tour of duty and needs to leave her young children behind - I don't mean to but its an involuntary reaction before I can check it with my equality meter. So reviewing this area of balance between adrenaline and happiness is something I will explore more this year.

She Defined Iraq: Gertrude Bell

She is one of my favorite historical females. Such an interesting and adventurous life. Gertrude Bell was born in 1868 in Britain. After gaining her degree at Oxford in just two years she then traveled to the middle east. She became fluent in 5 languages including Arabic. She then traveled extensively through the middle east as an archaeologist mapping much of the untraveled terrain of Mesopotamia. During her travels she built up a deep knowledge of the area and of the tribes and rulers of the area.
When world war one arrived Gertrude requested a position in the middle east but she was turned down so joined the French Red Cross. However the British realized they needed intelligence about areas in the Middle East that had not been explored extensively, except they knew Gertrude had explored these areas and had relationships with key native people in the area. Eventually the British government offered her a position. Gertrude worked extremely closely with T.E. Lawrence
In 1919 Bell was assigned the task of drawing the borders for the creation of a country that would be called Iraq. It was an extremely stressful task to create the borders and while she succeeded in the task and persuading Winston Churchill who should be the first king of Iraq, she knew the chance of long-term success was unlikely.
Bell died in July 1926 from an overdose. It's unclear whether it was intentional, some believe she may have had a terminal illness and chose to end her life rather than pro-long it in pain.
A fact I've just learned about Gertrude is that she was member of the Anti-Suffrage League - a movement against the women's movement. Her opinion was that until women were prepared to realize their domain was outside the kitchen and the bedroom they weren't prepared to make decisions on how the country should be run. I can imagine given her working class upbringing and her hard work ethic that if she can make her way in the world then other women should have been able to. I can not imagine her being sympathetic to women in domestic situations.

Finally, A Magazine for Smart Girls - girlworks

So happy to hear that someone is looking to provide appropriately targeted content for the 11-15 year old girl - girlworks - the magazine for smart girls. This organization is in Canada. They are about to publish their first magazine for this audience. It sounds promising.

The fact that the first issue is covering veterinarians in their careergirl section, and that is what my 10 year old wants to be when she grows up isn't the only fact that is making me like their style. The site has some great links and topics - girls around the world, art and design, sport and fitness - each topic is dealt with in a thoughtful healthy way.
I am seriously considering subscribing for my 10 year old as it would be wonderful to fill her world with great 'smart' girls who are making their way in the world.

Famous Females: Elizabeth Cady Stanton

I've decided to declare Friday blog postings dedicated to Famous Females. I'd like to have a list of 100 women at my finger tips to inspire my daughters. Some will be women who have overcome the challenge of basic right for women, some will have achieved some greatness in other ways, and some may be obscure women who deserve to be famous.

So the woman I'd like to start with is Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She was born in 1815. She's a woman in history who deserves more notoriety than she gets. She has been credited with organizing the first women's movement and the first women's suffrage movement. She was a close friend of Susan B. Anthony and these two women working together dedicated their lives to the rights of women.

Elizabeth not only worked to get women the vote in the US but was also responsible for driving issues related to women's rights to work, to have access to the money their earned and to own property. So much of this we take for granted today and yet it wasn't that long ago that, really its not many generations when that wasn't possible, in the lifetime of my great-great-great-grandmother.

I find it amazing that the two women had to oppose the 14th and 15th amendments that were about giving black men the right to vote, because of their strong belief that the Constitution was meant to apply to all people not just men. Elizabeth had been raised in a house where black slaves would hide when escaping north, she had been a major supporter of anti-slave movement, but was utterly frustrated that while the amendment was being changed to accomodate men of color society refused to offer women the same rights.

Elizabeth was exceptional, and although she married and had 7 children she worked tirelessly in her writings and was often the words and strategies behind Susan who had the freedom to travel and speak at more events. Elizabeth wrote many documents, including the Women's bible.

I learned about Elizabeth through a wonderful PBS documentary, Not for Ourselves Alone. My daughters will learn about Elizabeth and know about how much she shaped women's lives.

More Info Needed to Motivate Women Owned Businesses to Hire

So here are some interesting facts: there are 8 million businesses in the US. 16% are owned by women. 4.2% of all revenue generated by businesses comes from women owned businesses, and only 20% of women owned businesses have employees. (NYT article) businesses

The group that did the research is trying to persuade the government to provide more funds to help build women's businesses. How can we women owned businesses be supported to increase the number of employees in their businesses?

This is interesting and I'd love to see what they think will motivate women to want to take employees. I have seen women at the company I work at move up the ranks and then some choose to take non-management roles - why? Is it their true career choice, is it to accommodate work/life balance while they'd like to be focused on career, or not, is it because they're avoiding managing people?

The research group is saying the more information needs to be available on how to grow a business, whereas today the focus is on how to start a business.

The article mentions the competition for women small businesses to push themselves to make a million dollars, 'Make Mine a Million $ Business' - its a fun location to get inspired and if so inclined and motivated, why not sign up your business to aspire to be a million dollar business - you can do it!

Michelle - What a Woman!

Doesn't she look fabulous? She truly is an inspiration to so many individuals. I love her height as I'm a 5'10'' woman myself. Now I wish I also had the Princeton and Harvard law degrees to match her accomplishments. She exudes confidence in being a parent, career woman, wife and first lady. Here is a fine example of a woman who certainly appears to be having success on her terms, however I'm sure she also has some of the challenges we all face. Apparently she's the first non-model to appear on the covre of Glamour since before 2002.

We appreciate you Michelle, but please know its okay to take a day-off to be whoever you are when no one is looking.

Women soon to be majority of US workforce

The numbers in the Washington Post predicting that there will be more women in the workforce in the US by October/November for the first time ever! This has come about by the down turn in jobs in male dominant areas such as construction, and the areas where jobs are opening up are in government, education and healthcare which are industries that are known to hire females. However the statistics hide the fact that women still work fewer hours and have lower pay than men. This is a complex space to determine what the ideal percentages should be. However it will be a historic moment when women out number men in the US workforce.