Is there such a thing as a perfect woman?

What does the perfect woman look like?

The media will give you one set of rules, your partner or parents another, but what does the perfect woman look like? What are her values, her morals, her goals, her achievements?

I think that you don't have to be a rocket scientist to realise that none of us match up to the messages we are receiving from voices outside of our own heads, so why try?

Why not do something radical and be your own woman and own the woman you are, completely?

What does that mean? It means doing a little exploring to see what is within you, to better understand yourself. It means doing a little exploring to see what the opportunities there are that surround you every day. And finally, it means taking full responsibility for every area of your life. I mean, do you really have to look like Marilyn Monroe, have the political clout of Hillary Clinton and the empire building nous of Oprah to be acceptable?

In Proverbs 31 of the bible, there is a section that praises the virtuous woman and extols her virtues. It's worth a read, as it is a challenge on all fronts. Firstly, let me say it ends by saying, "Many women have done wonderful things, but you've outclassed them all!" (Message Bible) This kind of lets us all of the hook a bit because it is saying that this woman was not your average woman. She excelled at everything! Are we required to marry up to her standards on all fronts? I don't believe so.

But what it does give us is some key areas that we can exam against our own lives and see if these are areas we would like to improve or develop. Such things as, focus on family, exercise, wealth building activities, diet, being productive with our hands, the level of idleness or level of activity in our lives, our ability to build trust in our relationships, our generosity, our servanthood, our standing in the community, our level of organisation, our attitude to life and work, our homemaking and other skills, our words, and finally, our ability to supervise and influence others.

I believe that every woman has the potential to be perfect - perfectly her. If you are being perfectly you, owning all that you are, making the most of all that you can be, that is all that life can really ask of you.

You may not realise it, but you can be quite influential without even knowing it. To give you an example, when I was in Year 11 at school, the uniform was pants (blue or black slacks, no jeans) and a white shirt. Previously, many years prior, there used to be a box pleat tunic, with a blazer, tights, white shirt and tie. I decided that unlike everyone else, who was happy being comfortable and practical, I was going to revert to the old school uniform, which was really impractical and not really all that comfortable. Don't ask me why, I just thought it would be fun. So I went to the local Op Shop and purchased all the bits I needed. I took a deep breath on Monday morning, donned the uniform and went to school. Some people looked at me with their mouths opened and eyebrows raised, but within a month the majority of the upper school was wearing the old box pleat uniforms. This showed me that it doesn't take much to be a person of influence if you are willing to stand out in a crowd!

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the question, "Is there such a thing as a perfect woman?" And ask yourself the question, "If not, what's holding me back from enjoying who I am?" and "What could I be doing to make my mark in the world, if I had the confidence to accept all of me?"

Post your thoughts.