EDUCATE Limited Edition Leadership Academy
WITH PAULA DUNN
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elcome to my new column, my name is Paula Dunn and I’m a Teenage Resilience Expert and Cognitive Scientist. My column will focus on Cultivating a Leadership Mindset. My mission is to help young women and girl create confidence to conquer life, their way! I believe in a future where all girls have equal opportunities to develop leadership skills as part of their lives and not for those in leadership positions.
Speaking from personal experience, I would have loved to have learned about leadership when I was 15 and not after transitioning into a leadership role within corporate. Leadership gave me the tools to be proud to be me, have courage and to live life without limits. Having been born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, limits were already bestowed on me. Doctors told my parents “These kids don’t last long” and teachers put me in special slow learners’ classes for Maths and English because they considered me “Dumb”. But I wasn’t dumb, I was being teased relentlessly both physically and verbally by the boys at school. I had no psychological safety to learn and thrive at school, I was merely surviving. Now I bring my experience and expertise into my business No Limits Consulting and here on eYs to help you all thrive. Bullying is something I stand up against and I don’t want another young girls or woman feel like they have no voice or power to change their circumstances. I’ve seen how bullying can impact on a personal and professional level and if we don’t take charge of our own destinies, we’ll forever be at the mercy of others. Through my research I’ve discovered 5 important areas to get you thinking about creating confidence to conquer life your way! They are Confidence, Conscious Inclusion, Cultivation Growth Mindset, Congruence and Collaboration. 2020 has indeed tested our very essence of who we are as humans and as this year is drawing to a close it’s a great time to reflect upon the year that was but also remain optimistic and hopeful that next year will be a new year filled with endless possibilities. So, what better way to reset the mind by creating confidence to conquer life in 2021. Here are 10 Tips to get you thinking: “Stop thinking you’re doing it all wrong. Your path doesn’t look like anybody else’s because it can’t, it shouldn’t, and it won’t.” – Eleanor Brown 14 | eYs Magazine, December 2020
1. BE YOURSELF Many of our fears and anxieties come from trying to be something other than who we truly are. We compare ourselves to others and feel bad if we haven’t reached our “milestones”, based on what other people think we should have achieved by a certain age. The sooner you realise that you’re a unique individual with unique gifts to offer the world, the sooner you’ll be at peace with yourself and others. 2. DON’T FEAR NOT BEING LIKED OR BEING JUDGED BY OTHERS One of the biggest concerns we have while growing up is about being part of a tribe or group. The problem with that is we compromise ourselves and move away from the life we truly desire. It’s okay if not everyone likes you. After all, why fit in when you were clearly born to stand out? Your true friends will not judge you but will come from a place of curiosity to respectfully understand your beliefs and perspectives.
