There are lists that organize our lives. Shopping lists, to-do lists, appointments, tasks, things that absolutely still need to get done. We women in particular are remarkably good at writing down what we should still be doing for others.
But when did you last write a list about what you yourself want from your life? Not what needs to get done. Not what's expected of you. Not what would be sensible. But what you promise yourself.
At some point I started looking at my own rules differently. Not as rigid resolutions, and certainly not as yet another list to measure myself against and eventually conclude that, once again, I wasn't perfect enough.
My Power List is something else. It reminds me which woman I want to be, especially on the days I briefly forget myself.
1. I no longer wait for the perfect moment
I've pushed enough things off to "someday." Someday I'll travel there. Someday I'll start that project. Someday I'll get fitter. The problem with someday is that it has no date on the calendar. A dream doesn't become real once we've achieved it. It starts becoming real the moment we do something toward it.
2. I take care of my body because I still have a lot planned with it
It still has to carry me through many years. I want to be able to travel, carry suitcases, climb stairs, dance, train, and get up in the morning without feeling old. For me, movement today is no longer just a matter of appearance. Strength is freedom.
3. I don't make myself smaller so others feel more comfortable
You might know this: you talk about something you're proud of, and immediately downplay it. Why do we do that? We're allowed to be proud. Confidence doesn't mean thinking you're better than others. It means not constantly making yourself worse.
4. I invest in experiences, not just things
When I think back on the moments that really stayed with me, they were rarely objects. They were places, conversations, trips, an evening when we laughed far too much. That's why I want to keep collecting memories for as long as I can.
5. I take my financial independence seriously
Your own money means one thing above all: freedom to choose.
Knowing what's happening in my account, building up reserves, and not being fully dependent on another person has nothing to do with materialism. It means having options. And options are a form of freedom.
