Are you a woman with a strong presence?
Do you wish you were a woman with a strong presence?
A strong presence as a woman is important, but there can be pitfalls that come with it. In this article, we’re going to talk about all that comes with being a woman with a strong presence.
What Is A Woman With A Strong Presence
A woman with a strong presence is something most of us want to be. Some of us already are and sometimes wish we weren’t.
Why is being a woman with a strong presence often challenging?
Why might a woman with a strong presence feel unwanted?
How do you know if you’re a woman with a strong presence, and how do you fine tune your presence so you really are standing in a strong presence in just the right way?
What exactly is a woman with a strong presence?
First of all, presence has to do with being calm and collected. It even translates into this concept of being at hand, ready to face or deal with whatever’s put in front of us.
We’re here and we’re able to face what life gives us. We’re not out of our body. We’re not excarnating and dissociating. We have a certain clarity of thought, a certain mastery of our emotions, and a certain capacity to be fully embodied within our being. There’s a sense of strength and solidness in the idea of presence when we’re really embodied, connected to who we are and how we’re showing up.
Presence is often counter to the way women are perceived. We’re often perceived as being irrational and overly emotional. There are a lot of those associations that are very different from the idea of being a woman with a strong presence.
In order to feel we have clear attention in our thoughts, settledness and mastery of our emotions, and embodiment within our body, we need to practice the concepts of centering and grounding.
One of the most powerful centering tools I’ve worked with is what I call the pelvic bowl. By centering ourselves and bringing awareness to the base of our pelvic bowl, we become more attuned to the weight and grounding of our body. Whether we’re seated in a chair, standing, or simply taking notice of the center of our being, this practice can help us find a space of presence among many other techniques.
Why It’s Challenging To Be A Woman With A Strong Presence
As women, we have a lengthy history of oppression due to the patriarchal dominance culture we live in. Science and history have shown that these ancestral traumas are carried within our DNA. Consequently, we often experience a sense of threat, even when there’s no real danger present.
There are situations that can trigger us to disconnect from our bodies, resulting in a lack of presence and disconnection from the center of our being. This threat is real and deserves to be acknowledged and honored.
Many people tend to think others have no reason to be afraid or feel threatened, as they don’t perceive themselves as a potential threat. However, this feeling of threat is not always rational and can be a result of past traumas. We can strive to develop a clear and intuitive discernment about what is and is not safe. However, until we reach that point, we need to recognize and address the feeling of threat within us that requires healing and attention.
Often, a sense of being a woman with a strong presence is misconstrued as being arrogant, self-centered and difficult, especially women in the workplace in these high level management or executive positions.
When a woman expresses herself with the same passion and emotion as a man, it’s often perceived differently. If a woman shows her full self, including her emotions, while making her point with confidence, it can be seen as overly emotional, arrogant, or domineering. In contrast, if a man were to express the same sentiment, it would be considered normal. Our society has a history of creating these perceptions. However, it’s important to note that not all people or areas are the same.
As women, we can also examine how we perceive other women with a strong presence.
Do we view them as arrogant or overly confident? Sadly, we often hear women making these judgments. Sometimes, we can be our own worst enemies. These perceptions stem from feeling threatened and experiencing a sense of competition or jealousy.
We want to be careful and pay attention to feeling threatened because if we want to stand as a woman with a strong presence, we need to honor when other women are doing the same.
It’s important for us to examine our own judgments about what confidence looks like and what it means. This applies to everyone, not just women. Even men who show up with confidence can be viewed as arrogant or full of themselves.
We need to be mindful that sometimes the perception of arrogance is a misconception put upon someone with confidence. Therefore, we need to approach our judgments with care and explore within ourselves, “Is this person just confident? Perhaps it’s not arrogance. Maybe I haven’t seen someone stand in that kind of presence or confidence very often.”
Another thing that makes it challenging for women to have a strong presence is the overwhelming self-doubt many of us experience.
Women often fall into the trap of being people-pleasers, prioritizing the needs of others over their own, which only adds to their fears and self-doubt. These self-sabotaging tendencies prevent us from fully embracing our sense of self and standing confidently in our own power. However, by noticing these tendencies, we can begin to practice overcoming them.
Becoming a strong woman who exudes confidence and self-assuredness requires time and effort.
We cannot simply flip a switch and expect to show up confidently in every situation. Rather, we must confront our inner shadows, traumas, and triggers in order to develop the resilience and inner strength necessary to fully embrace our true selves.
This is one of the things my Solace program for women is all about. It’s a membership program that really takes deep dives into this ever spiraling Nature, where we tap into our inner wilderness and the sense of who we are so we can meet the outer wilderness with a sense of strong presence as a woman.
Why We Might Not Want To Be A Woman With A Strong Presence
Why might we not want to be a woman with a strong presence?
This has a lot to do with some of the things I was mentioning about the challenges. We might not want to be misunderstood. Our fears might be so great we just don’t want to deal with being misunderstood or misconstrued.
It often happens to me as well – feeling like what I say or do as I show up is being misinterpreted. When my intentions are not recognized for what they are, or when someone is projecting their own views onto me, it can feel really terrible. It’s disheartening to feel like you’re not being seen, heard, or understood for who you truly are. Hence, many of us are reluctant to put ourselves in a position where we might be so widely misunderstood.
Another common fear is not being liked. Women with a strong presence are often very clear in their convictions and are not afraid to speak their minds when they see something that’s not right. This ability to have a diffuse awareness and see the bigger picture is a powerful aspect of femininity. However, many women are afraid that if they speak up and show their strength, they will be perceived as difficult or unlikeable. This fear of rejection can be a significant barrier to developing a strong presence.
We also might not want the responsibility that comes with a strong presence.
For instance, in the workplace, many of us may worry that if we show up as strong, capable individuals, we’ll be expected to shoulder the bulk of the workload. Everyone may come to us with requests and assignments, assuming we can handle it all because we seem strong. They may believe that we have a deep understanding of what’s needed and can articulate it well. This strong presence can create unrealistic expectations that we can do more than we’re actually capable of.
At the same time, a truly strong presence is going to be able to set boundaries. That’s something to keep in mind. Even if we’re afraid of having extra responsibility, we have to remember that having a strong presence also knows when to say, “No,” how to set boundaries, and how to clear things up.
We might be afraid of facing whatever shadows come with having a strong presence, because when we stand more strongly in our truth, the universe always seems to meet us with challenges.
We’re always given something extra to deal with. It feels like being ground down on the polishing stone to become the shining gem that we are. We need to be given these trials to truly stand in that strong presence. Many of us are afraid of those trials. We’re afraid of the depths and shadow in going to those places that might feel painful to face, reconnecting with these parts of ourselves that we’ve ignored and we’ve pushed away.
Meeting our depths effectively is a huge part of what I do in my Solace program, so I strongly encourage you to check that out.
How To Know If You’re A Woman With A Strong Presence
As a woman with a strong presence, it’s likely that you possess a sense of clarity in your thinking. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you always know what to do, or that you are always 100% sure your thoughts are correct, or that they will take you where you want to go.
Nevertheless, this clarity of thought typically allows you to be decisive and make decisions confidently. You feel capable of taking a step forward and facing whatever comes your way with less hesitation and self-doubt. You have a keen sense of awareness of what’s happening around you, and are not easily swayed by inner voices.
Moreover, emotional mastery is another aspect that sets you apart. Even on the most trying days, when it seems like nothing is going your way, you are not one to let your emotions get the best of you. It can be easy to fly off the handle in rage, become anxious, or get frustrated to the point of tears. However, you have the ability to keep a cool head and maintain emotional balance.
Emotional mastery doesn’t imply that you’re not allowed to experience emotions. Rather, it refers to the ability to avoid getting completely lost in them, allowing you to maintain a strong presence in situations where it’s required, and then being able to let yourself fall apart and process emotions when needed.
In my own experience, whenever I’ve had a particularly rough day, I’ve found it helpful to indulge in a comforting ritual. For me, that often involves taking a bath. The water serves as a symbol for the emotional realm, and I envision everything that’s been weighing me down being washed away. This practice helps me find the inner strength to keep it together when I need to.
Ultimately, emotional mastery is not not feeling your emotions, but it’s honoring and understanding what’s around you.
If you have small children and you fly off the handle, that’s going to have an impact and affect those children, and sometimes we do. We don’t need to be feeling guilty about that.
Part of emotional mastery is also knowing what we’ve done. If we do fly off the handle, we apologize for it. We make it right. We see and understand what we’re doing. That’s part of a woman with a strong presence. This is mastery of our emotions.
A woman with a strong presence has clarity of thought, emotional mastery, and is deeply embodied, even in times of anxiety or trauma.
It’s common for people to try to distance themselves from their bodies when they feel fear or other intense emotions. However, a woman with a strong presence is able to remain grounded and present, even in the face of challenging circumstances. In times of crisis, her power and presence can be truly remarkable. She’s able to assess the situation with a clear eye, taking in all the details and responding in the most effective way possible.
That’s unlikely to occur for individuals who lack a strong presence, or are unable to assess the situation and maintain emotional composure while being clear-minded. Strong presence revolves around the idea of being very embodied and very present to the moment.
If you are a woman with a strong presence, you may notice that others feel intimidated by you. That becomes a challenge. Sometimes it can feel very lonely because of feeling misunderstood, or the ways people interpret things.
People who are struggling to find their presence, or to find their sense of confidence, are going to project onto those who do have presence and confidence that there’s something wrong with them. When people are scared to get out of their comfort zone, to step out of what they know and what the norm is, they will start to look at anything that’s not the norm as being a threat or problematic.
Another thing that’s really cool about being a woman with a strong presence is that you start to realize you don’t care so much about what others think. A lot of us are spending so much time worrying about what people will think.
What will they think if I say that?
What will they think if I show up wearing this?
What will they think if I speak up?
When we show ourselves, know we’re on purpose, doing what we’re here to do, and we’re standing in a strong presence, we’re not worried about what other people think. That’s also a sign that you’re a woman with a strong presence.
How To Fine Tune Your Presence As A Woman With A Strong Presence
Take a look at my Solace program. It’s a powerful program to walk through and help you become stronger as a woman, stand in your truth and become the most empowered you that you’re capable of being.
I also have a playlist called Centering, Grounding, Presencing that has some videos with some meditations to help you find more of a strong presence within yourself. Center yourself, tune into your emotions, and presence with what you’re feeling. What’s going on? Are you all in your head, or are you dropping down to see what’s going on in your body and emotions?
These are things you can do to fine tune to your presence. Most importantly, practice it.
Everything is about practice.
We must work at this. We have to apply it to ourselves. Try these things and see what happens over time of consistent practice.
We also want to explore our inner wilderness.
I call it the inner wilderness because it can feel like a dark and scary place in there sometimes. We don’t know what we’re going to meet, what kinds of beastly shadows we might have, or other aspects and elements of ourselves we don’t always face or want to face.
However, we have to be willing to go in there and notice when we’re going to extremes.
Are we clinging to one idea because we’re so afraid of another?
Are we bouncing back and forth and ping ponging and never finding our center?
Another tool I have is called my Balance and Empowerment Cards which is free to download. It’s so helpful for finding your center and balance point of true empowerment.
If you’re going to be a woman with a strong presence, you can hire a coach, talk to a friend, have a therapist, or whatever seems to work for you.
Being a woman with a strong presence actually invites others to be and have a strong presence.
That’s the beauty of this work. Think less about what others are thinking, and worry less about what others are thinking. Practice standing in that presence.
I hope many of these tools have helped you. Share this with others to make sure more women get information like this to support them in their strength and movement toward empowerment.
For a video version of, A Woman with A Strong Presence, watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_I1mv4kNh8
