The 3 E's in the journey of Self-Compassion

The power of the 3 E’s Embrace: “your past”Evaluate: “your present”Evolve: “your future”

Anyone who knows me, will instantly tell you, that I have no filter and am unapologetic when it comes to standing up towards injustice in any shape or form. Keeping that in mind, I decided that I needed to share some of my own lessons and try to package it in a palatable way, that may add value to others, without my intensity overpowering the message I seek to share.

So today, I choose to focus on my 3 E’s and the part that compassion plays a pivotal role in. Here follows, an excerpt from my soon to be published book – The Compassionate Leader of Influence!

The Compassionate Leader of Influence guides, supports and actively listens to their people. They are inclusive Leaders who encourage and entice the voice of their people to be heard, before they make important decisions using African Principles of Leadership. They use the 3 E’s to stretch, grow and empower their people by leading not managing.

The 3 E’s simply allow each individual to embark on a journey of self-development whilst being fully supported by their teams, friends and family. Embracing their Past and the lessons learnt, Evaluating their Present to see where they need development in order to Evolve into a Future filled with possibility.

Coincidentally, I stumbled across a fascinating concept called Sankofa Principles. To me, it so resonated with African principles of Leadership and all that it represents in the journey of my 3E’s. Sankofa is a mythical bird that comes from the Andrika symbols, that originated from the Kingdom of Ashanti, known now as Ghana, situated in the West of Africa.

To give you some context, the Sankofa bird is depicted with both its feet facing forward, and its head is turned backward, as it lifts a golden egg. The beauty of the symbolism here lies in the literal meaning “go back and get”. When further explored, it can be interpreted in many powerful ways yet the way it is used, holds incredible importance in one’s growth.

Everything I am talking about in this article not just alludes to it but encompasses the depth of it.

The Sankofa symbol, encourages a person to look back into their history and bring all the lessons into their present, to create the future they seek. See, there is value in the way we look at lessons and how we choose to use them in our current lives. We can wallow in self-pity, or dig deep and seek the wisdom that lies within and challenge our thinking too. Ain’t that the pure magic of mindpower?

That is why, I chose to focus specifically on how Women can take full control of their environment, thoughts, belief systems and programming by understanding their own current situations. We all can learn and heal from our past, in order to work out the triggers, spot the glimmers and move forward.

In this article, I include amazing tips that guide each person to be able to look at what has been holding them back, how to let go, seek new tools, self-development and techniques that will help them grow and then evolve by envisioning a powerful future where their confidence guarantees them success in all levels of their lives.

This allows for them to be more intentional and focussed on what they want to achieve and to seek support through connecting meaningfully with others. So let’s get into them…

So here is my take on the Glass Ceiling effect!

10 tools and techniques that Women can use to embrace the 3 E's and become Compassionate Leaders of Influence using African Principles of Leadership:

Storytelling Circles: Create safe spaces for open dialogue and storytelling where team members can share their experiences and challenges. This fosters inclusivity and encourages active listening.

Reflective Journaling: Encourage individuals to keep journals to help them embrace their past, evaluate their present, and envision their future. Regular introspection promotes self-awareness and personal growth.

Mentorship Programs: Establish mentorship relationships where experienced men and women, guide and support others in their personal and professional development journey with an intention to embrace communal growth.

Ubuntu Philosophy: Embrace the African philosophy of Ubuntu, emphasizing interconnectedness and shared humanity. Women can lead by example, demonstrating empathy and compassion in their interactions.

Sankofa Principle: This is a saying in Ghana from the language “Twi”. Literally meaning “to go back and get it”. Emphasizing the importance of looking back to move forward. We want to encourage learning from their past experiences, mistakes, and successes to inform their present actions and future aspirations.

Community Workshops: Organize workshops that focus on skill development, emotional intelligence, and self-awareness. These workshops can be a platform for women to learn and support each other’s growth.

Mindfulness and Meditation: Introduce mindfulness practices to help individuals centre themselves, manage stress, and develop a greater understanding of their thoughts and emotions.

Vision Boarding: Guide team members in creating visual representations of their future goals and aspirations. This technique helps individuals clarify their objectives and stay motivated.

Strengths-Based Leadership: Encourage individuals to identify and leverage their strengths. This approach boosts self-confidence and empowers women to lead authentically.

Cultural Celebrations: Incorporate African cultural celebrations and rituals that promote personal growth and empowerment. These events can serve as reminders of heritage, values, and the power of collective support.

When you think about it, the key is to create a supportive and inclusive environment where women feel empowered to take control of their personal development journey whilst embracing their past, evaluating their present, and evolving towards an exquisite future.

Implementing the Value of Compassion and using the 3 E's (Embrace, Evaluate, Evolve) can significantly impact the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to women's empowerment.

Here's how:

Goal 5: Gender Equality

Embrace Past Struggles: Encourage women to reflect on the challenges they’ve overcome and recognize their strength. This can boost their self-esteem and determination to pursue gender equality.

Evaluate Current Inequalities: Analyze the present state of gender disparities within communities and organizations. This evaluation can lead to informed decisions and targeted actions to address existing gaps in the family as well as business environment.

Evolve Advocacy Efforts: Empower women to use their past experiences and present insights to drive advocacy for gender equality. Their evolved perspectives can lead to more effective strategies and initiatives being implemented as a Movement or new way to have courageous conversations.

Goal 4: Quality Education

Embrace Learning Journeys: Women can recognize their educational paths, sharing stories of perseverance to inspire others. This can create a supportive environment for education.

Evaluate Educational Gaps: Assess the current state of women’s education, identifying barriers and limitations. This evaluation can inform policies and initiatives to improve access to quality education.

Evolve Mentorship and Scholarships: Women who have benefited from education can mentor and support other women, creating a cycle of empowerment and knowledge-sharing.

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being

Embrace Health Histories: Women can acknowledge their health journeys, promoting open conversations about health and well-being. This can reduce stigma and encourage seeking support.

Evaluate Health Services: Assess the accessibility and quality of healthcare services for women. This evaluation can lead to improvements in healthcare infrastructure and policies.

Evolve Health Advocacy: Empower women to advocate for better health services and policies based on their experiences and insights. Their evolved perspectives can drive positive change.

By understanding the simplicity of the 3 E’s and Compassionate Leadership principles, women can embrace their past, evaluate their present circumstances, and evolve into empowered advocates for change. The challenge though, is to not overthink this.

Each step takes deep healing, reflection, courage and honesty, as we traverse this journey of understanding ourselves. It is brutal, and raw at times and beautiful and humbling at others. The point though, is that we are on the cusp of change, evolving constantly and we sometimes miss the mark by thinking about thinking, whilst overthinking about resolving our thoughts.

As we search for answers, we literally forget to look in the mirror and stand still long enough to acknowledge ourselves. We fail to realise, that in the stillness, grows hope, joy and possibility.  And as we trust ourselves more, we begin to heal and understand what our true self worth truly is. We no longer project our insecurities at the World, or wait for the Universe to provide what we need.

As celestial beings, we are already Enough! Good enough, beautiful enough, thoughtful enough, kind enough, joyful enough and filled with enough love to share liberally.

Having that mindset, allows us to explore our endless possibilities. We are unlimited in our potential, gracious in our demeanour, gentle in our approach and fierce in our follow through!

Goal 1: No Poverty

Embrace Financial Histories: Women can acknowledge their past financial struggles and triumphs, enabling them to better manage their resources and help others in similar situations.

Evaluate Economic Opportunities: Assess the current economic landscape for women, identifying areas for improvement. This evaluation can guide the development of programs that empower women financially.

Evolve Entrepreneurial Skills: Through self-development, women can acquire new skills, such as entrepreneurship, to create income-generating opportunities for themselves and their communities.

Unstoppable? Of course, we are. The limitations will always be the ones we impose on ourselves.

This approach creates a ripple effect that positively impacts the SDGs related to women’s empowerment, fostering a more inclusive and equitable world.

After all, if we seek significance in our daily lives, it makes sense to invest in our self-development and share these tools with as many people as possible. Our world is filled with potential. The potential to have courageous, compassionate conversations. The potential to alleviate poverty, pain, suffering, injustice and inequality on so many levels. The potential to make human suffering non-existent, if we choose to have meaningful conversations filled with respect, intentional listening and unconditional support for each other.

Well, that’s it for my rambling updates, sharing and engaging and hoping you find something intriguing enough to reach out.

I wish you all a phenomenal rest of your year and until the next time, take care and have fun!