I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by your stories.
It has been a constant source of amazement to me that women achieve so much when so many have grown up with disappointment,desperation and discouragement.
I will always thank a woman I met when I was 19. She was a long standing friend of my parents whom I knew from a distance. She said to me ‘don’t let your miserable childhood define you Julia. In some ways it is your strength. It’s up to you to make the rest of your life better’. She had a profound impact on me.
I have looked forward ever since and buried a lot. The world tells you that you have to go back and face the trauma, burying has worked far better for me. Why am I saying this? I worry that you may think I am judging or suggesting this as an approach that works for everyone. I am not. What I am saying is that we all deal with pain, in different ways, at different times. And the truth is that others have felt much worse pain than mine.
But one thing I can’t bury is that it all had an impact on how I lead and therefor on the people I lead. It gave me more empathy I hope, but also some triggers that send me in the wrong direction. I hope – slowly – I have learnt to counterbalance them.
