The world has a pulse. When tensions are high, you can feel it. But the pulse I am feeling now is different – it’s not tense, it’s like a humming that keeps getting louder, and I can feel it reverberating all over the world. This pulse is the dawning of an age where women are letting their voices be heard, louder than ever before. The #MeToo movement, among other recent campaigns, has set into motion a desire to be free of the restraints of fear, of believing that women are powerless. Women across the global are steadily and determinedly stepping into their power.

This morning, as I was shifting between being asleep and awake, a question floated into my mind: What does it mean to be a confident woman? What does it really mean? Confident women walk a certain way and talk a certain way, but it’s so much more than that. I pulled up the data from Queendom’s Big Five Personality Test, and analyzed a sample of 560 highly confident women. Here’s how they differed from other women:

• They take pride in their accomplishments – and while they like receiving a pat on the back, they do not need validation from others.

• They take pride in being different and don’t feel the need to conform. They are not afraid to stand out.

• They love and respect themselves, and don’t allow the latest beauty standards to dictate how they should look. Confident women believe that all women are intelligent and attractive in their own way.

• Their personal opinion of themselves holds more weight than other people’s opinion of them.

• Confident women are comfortable taking charge. They speak with confidence. They’re assertive, self-assured, and will not second-guess their decisions or allow self-doubt (or other people’s doubts) to sway them.

• They will stand up for themselves, even if they risk rejection or mockery – and they’re not afraid to stand alone if they have to.

• When a confident woman is angry with you, she’ll let you know. She won’t resort to little mind games, the silent treatment, or passive aggression.

• Confident women accept their faults but they also strive to better themselves. They don’t want to be average, they want to be the best woman they can be.

• They have a strong drive to succeed. They’re self-starters who don’t wait for opportunities to fall on their lap. They create their own destiny.

• Confident women persevere. No matter how daunting or unpleasant a task, they will push themselves to complete it.

• They are good under pressure and show poise and self-control. It’s not the screaming, angry woman you have to be wary of – it’s the one who is cool, calm, and collected. She is the real force to be reckoned with.

If you’ve been holding yourself back from doing something you’ve always wanted to – be it out of fear, doubt, or concern about what others will think – today is the day to do it. I implore you: Be the woman you were meant to be. Take that job offer. Say “no” to that person who is asking too much of you. Stop taking the blame for something that wasn’t your fault. Stop guilting yourself into believing that you are selfish if you do something that will make you happy. Don’t get married if you don’t want to. Don’t have children if you don’t want to. Have a string of lovers if you want to. Most importantly, do not allow anyone to dictate to you how a woman is supposed to feel, think, and act (apart from this blog post!).

Be a woman, in all her glory.

Insightfully yours,

Queen D