Malala Yousafzai
Hey Friend,
How are you? I hope you are taking care of yourself and your mental health. I want you to show up as the best version of you. In order to do that you have to take care of yourself!
I believe there is much to be learned from the women around us. There are strong amazing women who have made or are making a huge impact on this world and I would like to recognize them (especially since National Women’s Day was this past week!). Every now and then I would like to feature on of those strong women and talk about what we can learn from them. If we can learn something they have done, follow in their footsteps and avoid going through some of the hardships ourselves, then I consider that a win.
Today I would like to talk about Malala Yousafzai. Malala was born and raised in Pakistan. In a country where women weren’t valued and their voices weren’t heard, Malala stood up for her right (and the right of those around her) to be educated. All Malala wanted to do was to learn, but the Taliban was trying to prevent girls from going to school. Malala wrote blog posts for the world to read, about what was going on at her school. At first the blog was anonymous but then she released her name. Malala was threatened on television, but still she didn’t stop her fight for education. One day while on the school bus the Taliban stopped the bus and shot her in the face…. she was only 15 years old. Malala underwent serious surgeries and was flown to the United Kingdom. She worked hard to recover and became an activist for education. Malala won the Nobel Peace Prize at age 17. She was the youngest person who has ever been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Five things we can learn from Malala:
- Don’t hold grudges.
During an interview with Malala a reporter commented about how she didn’t talk bad about the people who had shot and nearly killed her. She acknowledged the comment by nodding her head, but didn’t respond much more on the topic. Malala went through a horrible and traumatic experience but wasn’t hateful or revengeful. She didn’t even hold grudges against the terrorists who had shot her. How easy would that have been for her to do? Would you be able to react the same way? Malala has said “with guns you can kill terrorists with education you can kill terrorism.” She is wise beyond her years. She continues to focus on her mission for change, rather than focus on the terrorists and their mission. If she focused on the terrorist, it would take the focus off of education, which she was fighting so hard for all children to have. Now think about how many people you are holding grudges against, for something much smaller and more menial than that? I am not saying you need to forgive someone who shoots you, abuses you etc., but reflect on who the hate or anger is truly hurting. Is it moving you forward towards your mission or is it keeping you stuck in the past? Is it doing you any favors to be upset and stewing over what they did to you? Is there any way you can get over it? Sometimes people are doing the best they can, with what they have. You may feel better when you focus on what you can control as opposed to what others control.
- Age doesn’t matter.
It doesn’t matter how old you are, you can make a change now! Malala is proof of that. It amazes me how someone so young can be so strong. She had a dream and she wasn’t going to stop until she accomplished her dream. Malala started being an activist for education at the age of 11. The Taliban banned girls from going to school and Malala said she wasn’t going to let them take away her right to an education. From age 11-15 (until she was shot) she wrote blog posts (at first anonymously) and she eventually spoke out publicly. The Taliban threatened her publicly, and her dad suggested she consider stopping for a while, but she refused. She was a child with grown adults telling her to stop and some were even threatening her, but she persisted because she knew it was the right in her heart.
After, Malala recovered from her surgery she went to other countries and fought for girls who had been kidnapped. I watched a documentary on her and she said she didn’t know how she could help the families of the girls who were kidnapped. After all she was “just a kid.” She talked to parents of the kidnapped kids as well as the president of Nigeria. She herself was a kid, and yet she still found the strength to stand up and do her part. Marie Forleo always says “everything is figureoutable.” You just have start. Start with one thing that you know how to do. As I will talk about later, all you need to know is why you are doing something, not how to do it. If we had all of the answers laid out for us, we likely wouldn’t do it because it simply would be too easy. Seeing Malala be such an advocate for education at such a young age, makes me wonder, why us grown adults make so many excuses. Are you fighting for what is important in your life? Are you standing up for others who can’t stand up for themselves?
This is where I think it is important to know what you stand for. You have to know what your core values are. If you don’t know what they are how can you uphold them? For example, my core values are honor, integrity and truth. I try to live my life being as real as possible. When someone else violates those principles, then they won’t be in my inner circle. It is as simple as that. Those are things that are very important to me. What are your non-negotiables?
Clearly our age doesn’t matter. No matter what age we are, we always seem to have an excuse. I am too old or I am too young. There never will be a perfect age for anything. Think of the last time you used your age as an excuse. How can you now re-write that story, or reframe it in your head?
- What you do now affects other generations
Malala’s family members were a huge factor in her becoming the woman she is. Both of Malala’s parents had a unique history with education.
Malala’s mother went to school until 6 years old. She was the only female in her class until she decided to leave school (which she later regretted). At the time her dad (Malala’s grandpa) was the one who had encouraged her to go to school. She left because she wanted to be like the other girls in her neighborhood. I believe that the inspiration from her father to go to school (when other kids weren’t going to school), had an impact on Malala’s mother and later it trickled down to Malala. One person’s behavior can affect future generations. Malala’s mothers experience may have led her to encourage her daughter to go to and stay in school. The encouragement and excitement could have helped spark Malala’s passion for education!
Malala’s father ran his own educational institution and encouraged Malala to learn and to “be free as a bird.” He didn’t hold her to the limitations that other parents were holding their daughters too. He allowed her to be herself and to pursue her passion. Malala commented that is wasn’t what her dad taught her, but it was what he allowed her to do.
What you do today can affect your children or the future generations tomorrow. You likely just don’t know it. Have you ever had the feeling that some things are just in your blood or DNA? For example, my dad LOVES pizza. I don’t even think I realized how much he loved until I was an adult. I too love pizza. I feel like its in my DNA. Now, I don’t remember eating a ton of pizza growing up. It’s not like it was an obvious learned habit. Obviously, that was a cheesy example (excuse the pizza pun) in comparison to education. The point is what you do in your life, and how you do it will affect those who come behind you. They can repeat your mistakes or they can take them and move past them, and accomplish great things. The decisions you make has the ability to impact future generations. What decisions are you making or not making for the future? Get after it.
- If not now, then when
Sometimes we focus so much on how we are going to do something. We want to have the whole roadmap on how to accomplish something, laid out for us. If it isn’t laid out, then we just assume it is too hard and we can’t do it. Or we make the excuse that we can’t because we don’t know how to. We say, how could I (just one woman) make a change? What we should be focusing on is the why. Why is this important to me? Why should I stand up for this cause? Why something is important to you, will drive you to figure out the how. In reality, you only need to figure out the “how” one step at a time. If you don’t take that first step, you cannot make the change. We often say “it’s too hard” or think to ourselves “someone else can do it.” What if nobody else does it? Where does that leave you? Where does it leave others? And how about the world? It matters that you stand up for what you know is right or wrong. If you don’t do it now, then when will you do it?
Do you think it is common for a 15-year-old girl from Pakistan to make such an impact on the world? She was in a country where sexism was commonplace. She has now made a huge impact on several other countries. It is hard for a 15-year-old girl from anywhere, to be famous in their own city, state, country, let alone, to be known around the world. It all started because she had a voice. You too have a voice, and when you pair it with something that you’re passionate about you can be unstoppable.
Be like Malala and don’t let fear hold you back. How often do you let fear hold you back for something small like a project, for something non-life threatening, or for something as important as a dream? You don’t need to stand up for something if it has the potential to get you killed, but you do need to stand up for something. As the famous phrase goes “if you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.” What have you always wanted to do but you’re a little bit scared of? Consider taking one small action today.
- Stand up for change even when you stand alone.
Malala stood up for education even when she may have felt alone. She said “When the whole world is silent even one voice becomes powerful.” This is hard for grown adults to recognize, let alone a child. How often do you just go with the flow of the room because everyone in the room is saying one thing? Maybe you don’t agree but you don’t want to be the black sheep in the room. Most of us have experienced that feeling. Have you ever been in a room where the opinion is all going one way, and then one brave person speaks up and suddenly everyone completely changes their mind? It’s because one person had the courage to speak up and say what they thought. It always makes me wonder what would happen if that person hadn’t of spoken up? When that happens, let it serve as a reminder to you, to say your peace. At least If you say your opinion you know you have put it out there to the world and given other people something to think about. It’s possible they hadn’t even considered that option, until you mentioned it.
Malala also said “If one man can destroy everything, why can’t one girl change it.” There is great power in just one person. Sometimes all it takes is for one person to speak their truth and others are willing to rally behind them.
In conclusion friends, remember not to hold grudges, age doesn’t matter, what you do now affects other generations, if not now than when and stand up for change even when you stand alone. Consider applying one of these principles to your life and let me know how it works for you.
I would love to get feedback on what you want to hear about in the future. Do you want to continue to learn about empowering women every now and again?
Next time we will talk about Negativity and the effects it can have on your life!
Until then friend, take care of you!
Marie