A recent encounter has haunted me. I just can’t get it out of my head and maybe I’m not the only one…

One morning shortly after the holidays, I was having a conversation in one of my favorite coffee shops with a “nice guy.” He asked me if I survived the holidays. I answered yes, and told him I was glad to get back to my routine.

He then said, “Oh, do you work? Full time?” He seemed surprised.

Why yes, I work. Full time. More than full time to be exact.

Seriously? WTF? First of all, what difference does it make? Even if I don’t “work,” aren’t I allowed to have a routine? Or is routine only for 50-something white guys in suits?

And why in the world would he ask me if I work full time? If I work part time, ¾ time or five hours per week am I less of a contributor to society? Less of a human?

Would he have asked a younger man these questions?

Maybe he didn’t mean anything by this. Maybe he was just making conversation. Maybe he thought I’m retired. Maybe I’m overreacting...But what I do know is it didn’t feel good to be spoken to in this way.

It felt condescending, sexist, maybe ageist and for sure patronizing. With this man’s comments, I felt the full weight of our patriarchal society.

Like many of my female-identifying clients, no matter how old or young you are, you likely work your ass off by raising a family; as the founder of a company; or as an artist or a chef. You might work full time, part time or not at all; maybe you have a busy life and simply like routine.

Sadly, all too often, I talk to women taking care of business and everyone else, and in the process they neglect to take care of themselves. Somewhere along the way, through no fault of their own, they’ve come to believe that they don’t matter.

This is BS.

Regardless of what you do, how many hours you log, or who else you’re responsible for, YOU matter.

You can have, do and be anything you want, at any age, and this includes living a healthy, vibrant life.

When women empower themselves with this belief the results are truly amazing, yet not surprising, because we are women after all 😉.

I’ve had clients climb volcanoes. End toxic relationships. Free themselves from binge eating. Set boundaries at work. Do vinyasa yoga into their 80’s.

I’m curious, what’s possible for YOU when you believe that you are worth prioritizing?