Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.
When it comes to powerful figures in British politics, few in recent memory have had the same kind of impact as Margaret Thatcher.
She was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for over a decade, spanning from 1979 to 1990. Thatcher was the first woman to become leader of a major UK political party when she ascended to that position for the Conservative Party in 1975 and she became Britain’s first female Prime Minster four years later. To say that she knows a little something about being powerful and being a lady is a bit of an understatement.
We all have to realize that while we can choose how to define ourselves, we are indeed defined by our actions and not by our words. If a woman went around telling everyone that she is a lady, but she dressed like a slob and had no perceptible sense of decorum, most people would agree that she is not a lady.
Your actions speak much louder than your words.
Put another way, I posted an update on my Facebook profile a few days ago, saying that the moment you decree your video is “viral,” it ceases to be viral. This is not a property that you can assign yourself. It is a property that the video (or person) takes on as a result of its actions and its reception by the mass populace.
Want to be a lady? Want to be powerful? Want your video to become viral?
Then, act as such; don’t tell me as such.
Donald Trump doesn’t have to tell people that he is rich and successful. He just is. Steve Jobs doesn’t go around telling people that he’s charismatic and offers a bold presence on the stage. He just does. A big part of this has to do with the self-fulfilling prophecy. If you truly believe that you are (fill in the blank) and you act as such, you really will become (fill in the blank).
Very good post. I was in high school when she took over as head of he Conservative Party believe me she was not a pleasant lady. She knew how to debate and was not afraid to mix it up.
I do want to interject that as children and teens the attitude that our parents portray to us about who and what we are has a great deal to do with how we interact with others as we get older. So, the self-fulfilling prophecy tends to be a parent fulfilling one unless we try very hard to change who we are.