Ponder this for one moment – could you be an Elegant Rebel®?
Do you celebrate your uniqueness? Do you prefer to create your own soul path and encourage others to do the same? Do you compassionately and gracefully disrupt societal norms and elegantly rebel? If you answered even a vague ‘yes’ to any of these ponderings you may just be on the path to re-igniting your own Elegant Rebel®!
Every day I am discovering more and more moments and reasons to go ohhhhhhhhh I really am an Elegant Rebel®! And I know for a fact I am not the only one. Everywhere I visit or in stories I read, I see elegantly rebellious traits. In everyday folks, doing everyday things.
And then there’s the more obvious ‘famous’ folks too. Just to give you some reference point names - as this list could go on and on - Keanu Reeves would definitely qualify. Ghandi. Malala Yousafzai.
The common traits I notice within everyone I have a ‘Hmmm you’re one…’ moment with, are they all choose to follow their inner-knowing instead of societal norms and take heart-centred action filled with compassion, kindness and grace.
These are the traits which I set my internal compass by every day, along with my overarching values. I ensure I follow my inner knowing in a kind and gracious manner, for myself and others, and in general I don’t need to follow the rest of the crowd to be me.
For anyone who knows me even a wee bit or has read about some of my lived experiences, you’ll know I’m quite uncomfortable with the word normal or society dictating how I fit in. I’ve said this often, however it is the perfect quote thanks to Craig my very clever brother, ‘the fact I don’t fit in, is exactly how I fit in.’ And I have taken this to the next level by elegantly choosing to not express my existence or experiences through society’s ‘normal’ definition.
According to society I have been, since birth, ‘too… <something>’. Please feel free to insert any descriptor you would like. For me it is big, sensitive, intelligent, tall, aloof, breasts too big, feet too big, hair too curly… on and on and on. I simply never fitted the ‘normal’ mould. So it really wasn’t a stretch for me to choose to stay flat in 2015 after my breast cancer diagnosis and bilateral mastectomy, as one example of exactly how I elegantly rebel.
Or more recently, putting myself through the challenges and expense of undergoing the neurodivergent verification process, to discover I scientifically do not meet the ‘normal’ or ‘typical’ requirements. Kinda relieved I didn’t as well, if I’m honest!
Both of these examples were my choices. For me. I am a huge advocate of choice and quietly encouraging others to make choices for their own well-being as opposed to ones based on what others may want or need you to be.
Recently I discovered this Joyce Meyer Ministries quote; ‘Rebellion isn’t about chaos; it’s about challenging the status quo with purpose and elegance.’ And I couldn’t agree more.
While I do choose to be elegantly rebellious, I also choose to disrupt the norm in a quiet, purposeful, graceful manner. I’m not one to cause chaos or shout people down to stand tall and be myself. My choices challenge the status quo while being accepting and considerate of other people’s opinions, life choices and where they are on their soul path.
Does this resonate with you? Perhaps you are a bit of a quiet disruptor too? There is so much power in grace, compassion and kindness. And like me, do you want to ask lots of questions and gently cause disruption to place greater emphasis on acceptance?
You never know, you could be ready to re-ignite your inner Elegant Rebel®! Perhaps you too are a breast cancer thriver and are pondering your options post treatment. And my experience of choosing to stay flat has inspired you to start quietly disrupting society. You are pondering if you want to rebel against the accepted social norm of ‘woman equals breasts’, in the hope of increasing society’s level of acceptance of you choosing to live life your way.
Or perhaps, like me you are late verified neuroquirky, and are suddenly discovering exactly how exhausted you are from wearing all the hats and masks to be able function in a predominantly neurotypical world. We are not high-functioning, we are high-masking. There’s definitely a difference if you take the time to ponder. And you are pondering, like me, how do we gracefully disrupt a society which is not really at one with overall neurodiversity?
This is where we can get a wee bit stuck. Taking these two examples, where do you even begin to elegantly rebel and increase acceptance?
For me, rebellion and disruption start with understanding the choices available and gracefully establishing your boundaries and standards based on your personal values. If you’re not aware of your personal values, I strongly recommend taking the time to figure them out. They are your anchor point for all your choices and decision-making. Life becomes just that wee bit simpler to navigate when you are able to ask yourself if a choice or decision is in alignment with, or goes against, your values.
Some quick examples for you of how knowing your values can assist:
By understanding my personal values – respect is my #1 - I have the structure I need to push back against our society’s emphasis on requiring breasts to be a woman, and to rebel against the underlying sexualisation of this and the non-acceptance of choosing something different.
I am learning to implement personal boundaries and standards, based on my values, so I can flourish and thrive in a predominantly ‘neurotypical’ society, while minimising burnout.
Through my values and boundary setting I am also now able to question someone’s well-intentioned word usage, such as referring to me as brave or strong, and have a kind and compassionate discussion around how using such words re-emphasises the stigma around not fitting into societal norms.
These are just some random examples of how I use my values every day to elegantly rebel and increase acceptance. Knowing my values provides me with the courage to share my experience and thoughts from a place of empowering neutrality. Knowing yours may also assist you in finding your voice and being able to share with the world what your version of normal, or dare I say uniqueness, is.
This is my dream and my wish – to be able to inspire others to find their voices. To re-igniting your own inner Elegant Rebel
To take up your space, gracefully. To be empowered and act from a place of neutrality. To ask your questions. To find your version of truth. To be able to elegantly disrupt society’s version of normal, should you choose. To discover your uniqueness. To celebrate your whole being, mind, body, spirit and soul.
So before making choices and decisions based on what society believes is normal, I encourage you to consider elegantly rebelling and ask yourself, ‘what’s best for me?’. Celebrate you as a person. Honour you as a person. Respect you as a person. Love you as a person. That’s your Elegant Rebel® moment. Your version of normal. It really is that simple for me.
Remember, you are a unique blend of experiences, talents, and dreams. Embrace your quirks, learn from setbacks, and step into your authenticity. Repeat after me, I am an Elegant Rebel®. You truly have got this!
And if you feel you may need a wee bit extra guidance to embrace your own Elegant Rebel®, book a Connection Chat with me, so we can have a coffee and a natter about how we might be able to work together to re-ignite your Elegant Rebel®.
Peta-Ann is the Founder of Elegant Rebel®, providing support for other soul-full rebels in rediscovering their uniqueness and celebrating all that they are and can be. Elegant Rebels choose to follow their inner-knowing instead of societal norms and take heart-centred action filled with compassion, kindness and grace. She is also a Published Author; Holistic Coach; Proofreader, Writer; Colour Therapist; Holistic Counsellor; Happiness Coach; Professional Psychic; Reiki Master; Certified Angel Tarot Card Read, Soul Coaching® Oracle Reader and late verified neuroquirky (AuDHD).
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