You don't have to be strong - feel like a woman instead of just functioning

A plea for softness, self-respect and the power of real emotion

“I don't need that!” – I recently read this sentence under one of my I AM WOMAN ads. And right after it: “But it's a good idea to give the lambs some sisterly support.”

A sentence straight out of our society's picture book. It succinctly captures how misunderstood strength is still.

Tough shell, functioning woman?

Many women have learned that strength means persevering . Functioning. Accomplishing everything – without complaining. "I don't need help" becomes a kind of badge of honor.

But this kind of strength leaves you empty in the long run.

Because true strength is not shown by resisting.

It manifests itself in allowing. In feeling. In being.

Self-respect also means: I don’t have to.

Self-respect begins when I allow myself not to always have to function.

Where I stop pushing my feelings away just to appear strong .

Where I stop being ashamed of my softness.

Where I allow myself to mourn, to doubt, to rest.

Not as a step backwards – but as a radical act of self-respect.

Being soft is not the opposite of strength. It is its origin.

We live in a world that often laughs at feelings – and rewards functioning.

But what truly nourishes, heals, and connects us is not within our control.

It is in the permission .

Permission to feel what hurts.

Permission to be weak.

The permission to be – without having to achieve anything.

I AM WOMAN is for exactly that.

Not for “the lambs”.

But for women who no longer just want to function.

For women who long for depth, for connection, for a true yes to themselves.

For women who know: I'm allowed to feel. I'm allowed to be soft. I'm allowed to be completely myself.

Because strength doesn’t mean: I don’t need anything.

Strength means: I allow myself to receive.

To be. To breathe. To feel.

When was the last time you allowed yourself not to have to be strong?