I Was Raised to Be a “Good Girl”

Like so many women, I was raised to be a “Good Girl.”

I shrank myself to fit society’s expectations. To not be too loud, too assertive, too bold, too noticeable—

Too MUCH.

I have found that this is a universal phenomenon. No matter where I have traveled in the world, I ask women the same question: “Who was raised to be a Good Girl?”

Almost everyone’s hand shoots up with no hesitation.

This Good Girl narrative is the embodiment of the thousands of little stories that we were told—about how to think, behave, look, and speak.

Research shows that girls begin to adapt their behavior to please others by age eight or nine. They are already aware, even if unconsciously, of the various incentives for being a Good Girl—and of the consequences of stepping outside that tiny box.

Here’s the problem.

Good Girls have been venturing out into the world in droves for the last half century. The very qualities required for success in the “outside” world—

Desire, drive, and stepping into one’s power to achieve your purpose––require them to “be bad” and act outside the norm expected of them.

This creates a vicious cycle where women must push beyond their Good Girl stories. And the more they do, the more pushback they get.

Why do you have to feel bad to be the good girl you long to be?