LETTER FROM EDITOR
What makes me think deeply
When I got married, there was a sudden change in my employer’s attitude. He told me, “Why do you need to earn? You are married to a well-to-do family, your husband can support you!” That year he didn’t give me a raise - neither the yearly bonus nor the incentive. Suddenly I was a threat; the perception was that I would eventually leave because of family obligations. Within a month, I quit. There are several instances where family, extended family, and even friends poke their noses into the choices we make in our life. I can pen down several such incidences, but those make me laugh now.
We are all aware of the external barriers that hinder our growth but it’s very rare that we discuss the internal obstacles that we face, which we often underplay. It is very easy to blame the circumstances of which we are victims, but honestly, do we really understand that we become what we perceive? Our choices matter. Barriers to our happiness, success and well being exist within ourselves as well as outside, which we use to hold ourselves back in many ways. We keep internalising the negative messages we receive from our environment throughout our lives, and keep adjusting and moulding ourselves based on this thing called “expectations”. Expectations? What exactly is it? It is a very abstract word, which we again perceive from our understanding of the world.
It’s sad how expectations can mess with one's view of the present.
We are told it’s wrong to be outspoken or aggressive or ambitious, that one must sacrifice work, career and move where the husband is employed, short sell one’s talent because women are assured that she needs to ensure work-life balance in order to do her original job of housework and child care. If things go messy and unsuccessful, we tend to blame ourselves without realizing that we are living the present life as per the choices we made in the past. We continue to make choices in order to make room for everyone, but not for ourselves. Never for ourselves.
My point is, while we cannot control the external barriers or unpleasant circumstances that confront us, what we can control is our thoughts and perceptions, which can then dismantle the hurdles that are holding us back today. Over the past few years, I have become more compassionate and kind to myself, and it has helped me understand things from a different, better perspective.
invincibleShe.in aims to encourage women to discuss, open up, engage and share their complex challenges and insights with each other, to give hope to that woman who is waiting to hear from you. With this noble mission, we hope that we are able to impart encouraging insights which will help us all re-discover the purpose of ‘The one precious life’. We hope we all have the courage and wisdom to believe, internalize and prioritise what we really want.
I also think we deserve to give a lot more attention to ourselves. Since each one of us has our own unique course of life, we just need to define the goals that fits our lives, values and dreams.
With this brief note from my heart, I welcome you all with invicibleShe.in’s YearBook.
Happy Reading! :)
Best,
Anumita Sarkar
Founder & Publishing Editor
invincibleShe.in
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