Summary

The website content provides a comprehensive guide for women on self-improvement, encompassing financial advice, personal growth, and relationship wisdom, emphasizing the importance of taking action, thinking independently, and making informed decisions.

Abstract

The article "9 Lessons For Women To Live Better" on the website offers insightful advice tailored for women seeking to enhance their lives. It encourages immediate action towards personal goals, fostering independence in thought and finance, and cultivating self-awareness by identifying personal strengths. The piece underscores the significance of saving early through retirement accounts, the value of self-education, and the necessity of not being swayed by others' opinions. It also touches on the importance of choosing the right life partner and the role of positive outlets in managing stress. The author, Destiny S. Harris, advocates for informed decisions regarding sex and relationships, emphasizing that marriage should be a well-considered choice, not one made out of societal pressure or convenience.

Opinions

The author believes that women should not delay in pursuing their dreams and ambitions, advocating for immediate action to live out one's aspirations.
Respect for parents is important, but the author stresses the need for independent thinking and questioning established beliefs and values.
Early financial planning, including the establishment of an emergency fund and understanding the benefits of compound interest, is crucial for long-term security.
Personal talents and interests should be recognized and nurtured to avoid wasting time on unsuitable activities.
Overthinking about others' thoughts can lead to indecision and unproductive behavior, so it's advised to focus on one's own path.
Self-education through reading or other means is seen as a key component of personal growth and self-improvement.
Women are encouraged to challenge societal expectations and not settle for less in any aspect of their lives, including relationships, career, and personal well-being.
Positive outlets are essential for managing stress and avoiding addictive behaviors that can be detrimental to one's overall health.
The decision to marry should not be taken lightly or based on external pressures; it should be a well-informed choice made after genuine understanding and trust have been established.
The author presents a balanced view on virginity and sex, advocating for wise decisions and shared experiences with a worthy partner, rather than viewing sex as something to be given away or taken.
Emphasis is placed on the importance of safe sex practices, including the use of condoms and contraceptives, and the establishment of trust before engaging in sexual relationships.

Self-Improvement

9 Lessons For Women To Live Better

Be A Better Version of Yourself Starting Today

Lesson 1: Don’t Wait

If you want to achieve something, don’t wait. If you want to travel somewhere, don’t wait. If you want to experience something good, don’t wait. Easy it is to put dreams, ambitions, and goals on hold, but all of these are valuable because they belong to you. Don’t oversit or procrastinate on your dreams; live them — starting today.

Lesson 2: Respect Your Parents, But Think for Yourself

For those of us who have grown up with decent parents, it is consequential for us to remember that it is only in our best interest to treat our parents with respect and goodwill. However, we must not forget to think for ourselves and question the ideas and beliefs of those who try to instill theirs into us.

To cultivate your true identity — who you really are — you must think for yourself and be responsibly skeptical of all who try to pin any part of their identity onto you. Before you adopt and integrate your parents’ beliefs, values, ideas, and ways of living life, take the time to both question and ponder them. You won’t regret it.

Lesson 3: Save Early

If you don’t know what a 401K or a Retirement Account (e.g., Traditional IRA and ROTH IRA) is, it’s an account you put money in to ensure you have money saved up for when you stop working.

Retirement Accounts — specifically, ROTH IRAs — are extra advantageous because any money you put can be taken out (penalty-free) in case of emergencies.

Remember to establish an emergency fund (3–6 months to start out and then 8–24 months to cover things like job loss) to cover unexpected life events.

You might think you don’t need to start saving and investing now but think again because compound interest is only best friends with the young; the earlier you save and invest, the less you will have to save and invest over your lifetime. If you don’t know a thing about money, a good starting point would be the Women & Money Finance Series.

Lesson 4: Find What You’re Good At

Kids have interests and things they enjoy doing; we often are good at certain activities at a young age, but sometimes these skills aren’t properly cultivated, or they’re forgotten. What activities make you come alive and feel like time is nonexistent? Take note, and don’t ignore the signs. Finding what you’re good at will save you time in the future and prevent you from wasting time on things you don’t want to do. What are you good at?

Lesson 5: Don’t Focus on Thoughts of Others

Paralysis and unproductive use of time; that’s what happens when one starts to focus on what other people are thinking. It makes a person indecisive, paranoid, unfocused, and unproductive.

We hear people say all the time, don’t be concerned about what others think or feel about you, just do your thing, but how many of us actually listen to this popular advice? It sure would save so many of us years of heartache if we did.

Lesson 6: R.E.A.D.

I’ve always felt like self-education is the best form of education — plus, it’s free. For most of us, books are a dime a dozen; they are literally everywhere, waiting for us to simply take advantage of them to GROW, LEARN, DISCOVER, and FLOURISH.

If you don’t like to read, I challenge you to listen to podcasts, read quotes, watch videos, or read short articles to switch it up; it doesn’t matter if the content is long or short as long as it adds positive value to your life.

Ignorance isn’t bliss; ignorance is just synonymous with lost opportunities.

Every day, do something that will better the you, you are today.

Lesson 7: Settle or Challenge

Okay, so as a female (with some feminist flare), I claim that an ample number of women settle with their: relationships, careers, health, education, finances, etc. It’s like some of us forget that we can ask for more while actually believing we deserve it.

I guarantee that someone will challenge your standards and say, “What you want is not really attainable nor is it realistic,” but it doesn’t matter what they think; what matters is that you go for what you feel and believe is right for you.

Write down what you want in your life (relationships, career, health, finances, etc.) on paper, in your phone, on your mirror, etc. After you have done this, I want you to get out of your comfort zone, challenge what you originally wrote, and aim higher; do a re-write.

“Don’t Settle, and make it a habit to challenge realistic expectations.”

Lesson 8: Outlets

Stress is unavoidable; it makes a visit in our lives at some point, if not often, and this is why we all need to have our positive outlets.

Positive outlets are activities that help us healthily get through everyday life; some outlets might include: exercise, using essential oils, eating healthy, having positive hobbies that are fun and stress relieving, etc.

What we all want to avoid as young women is addiction; this usually occurs when we engage in negative outlets whenever we are bored or going through hardship. Addictions are difficult to overcome and difficult to come back from (but it’s more than possible).

Focus on creating more positive outlets for yourself to get through life in a way that will not be detrimental to your soul, body, mind, and spirit.

Lesson 9: Marriage

Let me be the one to tell you:

You don’t have to get married just because you can relate to any of the following reasons:

1. You’re in love

2. You got pregnant by someone

3. You are not financially independent

4. You are lonely

5. You crave a dream wedding

6. You had sex with someone

7. You have been cohabitating with someone for a while

8. The concept seems convenient

9. The people closest to you keep asking about it

10. You want to have kids

11. You’re getting “old”

Marriage is a choice that should never be taken lightly, and many of the reasons people get married are not good enough. Never rush marriage, take time to get to know someone, and you might want to consider doing therapy with a person (both together and individually) before you tie the knot; you might gain reassurance that you are making the right decision, or you might re-think your decision and dip the f*** out.

Bonus Principles

Lesson 10: Virginity (Gain or Share?)

You either have sex, or you don’t — that is it. For the record, it doesn’t make a person more or less valuable if they have had sex or not. If you want to wait until you sign a piece of paper to have sex, that is completely fine, and if you don’t, that is also completely fine; the goal with sex is to make wise decisions when you participate in it.

Never look at sex as something you give away or something that gets taken from you; look at sex as a shared experience, and choose to share the experience with someone you won’t feel crossed or regretful about when you do decide to engage in this experience with them (in other words choose someone worthy of sharing the experience with you).

Lesson 11: S.E.X.

Naivety and unprotected sex are best friends; get your partner and yourself checked out before engaging in sex (don’t be coy or play games either, be there to get the results with your partner). But remember, you’re still taking a risk if you have unprotected sex with someone who gets checked out because we don’t always know what people are doing behind closed doors at the end of the day.

No matter if you are hetero or part of the lgbtqia+ community: use condoms, and if you don’t want pregnancy or there is a chance you could get pregnant, use contraceptives. Take the necessary precautions that are both comfortable and intelligent for you and your partner.

Remember, trust comes first, then sex — and never rush the trust part. It can take years to get to know someone genuinely, and that still might just be getting to know the surface for some people.

Cheers.