Many of us are struggling to find focus during these unprecedented times of coronavirus quarantine. And we have seen something emerge inside our community that was a little unexpected. There are a lot of writings focusing now on how to be organised, create structure and routines, and this seems sound and sensible advice.

However, scratch the surface, and you’ll see that the reality of our situation is opening up women to difficult, messy emotions – such as overwhelm, bitterness, grief, frustration, but also drive, connection, prioritisation – it appears that these complicated emotions are actually conceiving a spark of opportunity and a deep focus on personal values – but only in certain contexts.

Create safe spaces for women to open up.

When we feel disconnected, scared of being alone and are going through emotions that are not expected, the last thing you think is going to help is to look outside your current environment and connect with strangers. But that’s exactly what seems to be helping.

What we see women craving more than ever right now is deep connection.

Coming together with other like-minded women in a place where they can be vulnerable and share their struggles is helping women do what we do best – lifting each other up – even now where there is despair and depression all around us. And the key ingredient? Vulnerability.

Vulnerability is the door you need to walk through to feel fully connected.

It’s easy to start a vicious cycle of self doubt and talking yourself out of your own plans when you’re isolated and alone. It’s great to talk to your colleagues and family but oftentimes we are not able to be truly open and honest when we share our journey with people we know well.

“The level to which we protect ourselves from being vulnerable is a measure of our fear and disconnection.” Brené Brown

Building relationships with other women who we may never have met, is allowing us to open ourselves up to new possibilities, ideas and question our own patterns. Stripping away the mask and sharing our personal roller coaster of emotions is liberating and helping women to look deep within themselves. You can question life in a holistic way – career, wellbeing, family and ambition. Sharing what you have been feeling is liberating. Too often we feel shame for the things we are thinking or the emotions we are feeling. This is what keeps us stuck. When we experience unconditional acceptance and non-judgement to our ideas we are able to create deep connections with others and ourselves.

After vulnerability comes ability to take action.

At DrivenWoman we have seen an influx of women joining and seeking support during these unprecedented times. The support doesn’t just come in help and advice, but very much in the form of a ‘safe space’ where the stories can be told. We encourage everyone to share what they are going through and what they struggle with right now in order to identify the steps they can take to move forward.

It’s quite simple. It’s all about speaking your truth, accepting your present moment and finding solutions to move forward. This creates a cycle of positivity and action and we’re hearing this over and over in our community:

“Being connected to others has helped me to ‘get back on track’. In the face of so much uncertainty right now, it’s easy to imagine my small goals are not very important in the grand scheme of things and to lose the impetus to follow my dreams and take action.”

“Finding this connectivity has helped me to focus on what’s important to me. I need the connection and have been missing it for the past couple of weeks in real life.”

“It’s changed my perspective. I’m feeling much more positive about my current situation and like there are more possibilities which I’m now excited about!”

To thrive women need to feel connected with others.

We’ve been surprised at how effective our online communities have been in providing a space for women to connect deeply with themselves and others. Trusted virtual spaces in some ways can be even easier for people to share openly and honestly, whether it be our personal struggles or our joys and achievements.

What women understand is that their own journey is often an inspiration to others – and in our online communities there is no judgement, no preconceived ideas or expectations.

What’s clear is that women who have access to safe spaces and supportive communities, find it easier to get clear on their personal values, feel connected and are able to focus and take action in times of uncertainty.

In our corporate groups we are already hearing how these deep relationships and connections are lifting and supporting women through the unknown. Staying connected to peers and colleagues is clearly not just about regular zoom chats, but about using technology and community to create safe spaces to share and be real and vulnerable. And the output is already clear – when women are supported, connected, inspired and understood, they will be productive and thrive.

 

DrivenWoman is a female-only empowerment platform and accountability network, that helps ambitious women to achieve their goals and dreams by creating positive habits one step at a time. Thousands of women around the world have joined our program and are achieving their life goals, which range from entrepreneurial dreams to career change or simply being more confident in their own skin and enjoying life in the present moment.

To find out more about our programmes for corporations click here.

Join us in DrivenWoman’s FREE community the Doers Tribe.