How women can feel empowered

Do you want to know how to feel powerful, strong and ready to take on the world? It all starts with muscle-building activity.

Lifting weights is one of the best ways to feel stronger. I know that it doesn’t feel feminine – especially when you are doing it – but it’s amazing what weightlifting will do for one’s body and mind. Take a cue from my girlfriend, Cheryl, or Michelle Obama – to see that it also creates very shapely arms. I must confess that I don’t weight lift anymore, because with swimming, which already creates bigger arms, I was beginning to look like the incredible hulk. But I do remember the sense of power and mastery that it gave me. I thought, if only more women knew about this. It can be as pleasing as eating chocolate but far less fattening.

The second recommended muscle-building activity is to grab a racket and start smashing some tennis balls across the court. My girlfriend, Susan, and I have done that twice this summer and loved the experience. In addition to just volleying, we played two sets – splitting the wins. It was totally empowering…not to mention simply fun and a great way to raise one’s serotonin level – a neurotransmitter associated with happiness. I eagerly await our next match.

Finally, another great muscle-building activity is to read – preferably novels and not the candy-coated stuff. Real novels let your mind wander, imagine and enter someone else’s life and space, bringing new perspectives. A couple weeks ago, I read Ken Follett’s “World Without End,” a companion to “The Pillars of the Earth” which I had read a few years earlier. He is a masterful storyteller and always portrays women as heroines. You go, Ken. You’re my hero.

Now women – or girls as we like to be called - (from 18 to 80), go pick up a racket or some weights or even a novel and start becoming more powerful.