Bet On Yourself

 “I’d love to get promoted, but I have had five new bosses in the last two years and each one tells me I need to prove myself first.”

“I’d want and deserve a salary raise because I have been busting my ass off for years at my original pay, but my boss doesn’t “do” salary increases without an official promotion.”

“I want to pivot my career, but people in my chosen field seem uninterested.”

As women, we often feel like we’re at the mercy of others when it comes to our careers, when it comes to our goddamn lives…

If you don’t feel like you’re in the driver’s seat, if you don’t feel in control of your own life and career, then you’re not alone. Unfortunately, this lack of agency is felt by many women. The reasons for it are well documented. It comes down – in short – to millennia of being in very real terms dependent on others (*cough* men *cough*) to protect us so we could stay alive.

This continued even though that protection was no longer necessary in practical terms, especially since we hit the workforce in serious numbers around 50 years ago. And yet we’re often still caught in the trap of thinking we are dependent on others to make decisions for us. That’s what leads to that belief that your boss, your boss’ boss or others decide for you what type of work you do and at what level.

Babe, let me take your face in my hands, look you in the eye and say this:

Bet on yourself.

YOU decide.

YOU know what’s best for you.

YOU know what you’re capable of.

And really: you, my friend, are perfectly, perfectly capable.

Don’t let anyone tell you any different. You, and you alone are in charge of your life and career. There’s no prince Charming, and although there are a ton of great bosses, don’t bet on one of them coming to save your ass.

Bet. On. You.