Sasha Fierceness: Being Yourself

Have you heard of Sasha Fierce? Even if you aren’t so au courant with the pop music world, I bet you could guess. Three guesses. “All the single ladies”, “I’m a survivor”, “Destiny’s Child”. Yup, it’s Beyonce’s fabulous, confident, entertaining, powerful other self. In Allure magazine’s interview with Beyonce for February 2010, she confides: “Sasha Fierce is my alter ego, this other side of me that’s most animalistic and strong and fearless, and I have used this person to take over when I’m too scared or too shy… The thing that’s interesting is I don’t need Sasha Fierce anymore, because I’ve grown, and I’m now able to merge the two. I want people to see me. I want people to see who I am”. http://www.allure.com/ So, why does this matter to you? Do you really care that Beyonce has “found harmony in the contradictions”? I bet it matters more than you think. Think. Who is your Sasha Fierce? How many social masks do you put on every day? Even if you’re truly uber-confident , you probably put several on from the moment you wake up to greet your day. There’s the eager, go-get’em one that you put on at work to impress your boss or your clients even you want nothing more than to go back home and have a ‘me’ day. Or the one you put on when you really need a lazy, uninterested, unhelpful service person to help you out and you really are in a rush. Or the one you put on when you don’t know anyone in the room. What about the one when you do know people in the room, when you’re among other women?

And so, my sing-song is for all the ladies, single or not. Is your mask made of stone because you’re afraid to reveal yourself to a woman who isn’t as intelligent, well-connected, powerful or pretty as you? Is your mask painted with red stripes because you want her to understand that you are way more important than most people in the room? Is your mask a multi-colored coat because you want everyone to like you so you could add another notch on your Facebook page of popularity? Is yours wallpapered on the outside because you’re shy and you want to blend in, but spiky on the inside because you’re really angry no one notices you? So here’s my Beyonce-inspired anthem: I’m going to challenge all you women! Challenge all you women! All you women! No, I’m not going to ask you to rip off your masks to expose your raw face. Because I think a little Sasha Fierceness is a good thing and it can actually be really human, not so animalistic. It can make you feel more confident, feel more beautiful, feel stronger, and even act more kind. Just sheer that mask out a wee bit (the orangey line around your jaw is way too obvious!), allow your sisters to truly connect to you. You may be surprised at how fierce it makes you.