STRENGTH, BALANCE, AGILITY
Jane Dovidio-Gagliardo

So where does Strength, Balance and Agility fit into your life? Let’s examine the power of each… one by one.
STRENGTH – the state-of-being strong. As women how many times has someone told you, “You are one of the strongest women I know,” or “You’ll get through this, you’re stronger than you think.” I’ve learned during my lifetime that strength is not something I was born with. It is something I learned, exercised on a regular basis and became strong overtime. Strength became my survival strategy to get through some extremely difficult situations and times. And my strength continues to get stronger as I am faced with new or recurring life’s hurdles and burps. Strength was how I was able to stay alive emotionally and persevere through the many challenges I have encountered. Why is it that, as women, we seem to be the stronger gender? We are able to juggle, adapt and overcome some of life’s most difficult emotions and challenges. But maybe I’m wrong in thinking I wasn’t born with strength. Maybe, just being born female we already possess the strength we need to endure as we travel through the many stages of our female development.

Next, BALANCE – the ability to remain upright and steady. Well, well, now there’s another word that, as women, we definitely are capable of achieving. How many things in a day would you say you have to balance something? How about EVERYTHING… pretty much everything! When we finally lay down to sleep most of us automatically know that the next day we will have to balance everything all over again. And the more we do it, the better we become at the process of balance. But seriously, is it possible that if we’re not balancing things throughout the day, we believe it’s not done correctly or are we fearful of losing control of our own balance? Take a moment and just think about the value of balance in your life. Me, I’m a control freak for sure. Yep, right now, I’m bearing my most vulnerable self to all of you. And yes, I’m owning it. I’m truly a control freak. Lol. Enough said! How about you? Where do you stand when it comes to balance?

Lastly, AGILITY – the ability to move and think quickly and easily. Oh boy… along with Strength and Balance, Agility is a woman’s superpower! For me, as I age, my brain definitely moves quicker than my body. Lol. I hate to keep bringing up this women thing, lol; but where would we be in the professional world without this attribute? We have used our agility to raise our children, take care of our parents, nurture any sad and needy person who came across our path and navigate through our school years to get the most out of our education. Agility is also something we must instill in our children at a very young age because without it, decision-making and using good common-sense would fall by the wayside.
So now, hopefully possessing a more enlightened sense of what Strength, Balance and Agility means and the importance of these three skills, where do they fit in your life? If I’m to guess, you probably use each of these qualities every day all day and will use them until you take your last breath. Without Strength, Balance and Agility there would be little difference… other than physical between men and women. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love men. It’s just that I have yet to meet one with all three Strength, Balance and Agility. While most men possess physical strength, let’s be real here, few possess emotional and spiritual strength, balance and agility.I leave you with this thoughtful quote: “You always pass failure on your way to success.” (Micky Rooney) Stay Safe. Stay Strong. Stay Fearless.
