Cheri Dixon: A Girl and Her Dog

Do you remember high school? When I sit back and reflect on my life, this is what I remember about high school…everyone was competing for everything! Who was most popular…who was smartest…who was funniest….who was most talented…who was most athletic…the list goes on and on. I began playing the clarinet when I was 8 years old, and by the time I got to high school, I was pretty good. Of course, my life was filled with practices, private lessons, public lessons, group lessons, everything that I could do to be the best. I sat “first chair” in the band my senior year…which was a very coveted position…which of course, led to drama! But the most memorable think was that I lost some friendships over that…and that made me sad!

As I became an young adult, the competition didn’t stop…I became a teacher and then there was, “who is going to be teacher of the year?” Who was now the most popular? Who had the best life? Who had the best husband? Again, the list can go on and on…and thinking back to it now, I think, how sad. What if at any of these points in life, us women and girls could have thought smarter? What if we could have built each other up, supported each other, celebrated each other’s wins? What would that have done for our self esteem, self image, and overall accomplishments? I think it would have changed the whole path for so many women!

Sadly, it also took me a while to actually put this all into perspective and have the courage to step up and say…instead of tearing each other down, I am going to support other women! I am going to find the good in each one and help them see it also! I am going to stop putting my fears and insecurities first and focus on how I can affect the goals and dreams of others!

I have had the opportunity recently to meet some new friends! I have not actually met them in person, but we have chatted online, met on zoom, and we are currently collaborating on ways we can accomplish this goal of reframing how we have an impact on the world by supporting other women. Now, I am a pretty smart girl and I have had a lot of experiences in life…and I have to admit, I have learned so much from these girls! And, I have learned that I think I have made some life long friends! What I love is that we are all part of something together, which gives us something in common, but all have different perspectives, talents, and skills, and we can all learn from each other. Each of us is working on our own businesses, so it would be very easy to “compare” myself to where they are in their journey, get jealous over their accomplishments, be that girl that competes with others….but instead, I am loving this journey because I am doing just the opposite! I am choosing to learn from them, support them, allow them to support me, and collaborate with them on impacting the world by supporting so many others!

This week, I want to challenge all of you…we are not in high school any longer…we do not need to compete with each other at all! What we need to think about is how do we support our fellow woman and her journey through life? How do we celebrate other women for their accomplishments? And simply enough, are we that cheerleader that other women can count on to always have their back, cheering them on along the path of their journey? I would love to hear your thoughts on this as you reframe your thinking! I would love for you to listen to this week’s podcast on Apple or Spotify beginning on Tuesday, where I expand on this more…and provide me with feedback! I want to continue to have an impact in the world, and what better way to do this than to cheer on all the women in the world doing amazing things as wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, business owners, and just as friends! Until next time! Cheri ❤️