3 ways to become an admirable woman

Nowadays women are so concerned about becoming independent that they forget to become admirable women. In search of achievement, many become grumpy, irritable, impatient and even impolite.

There is nothing wrong with being an independent woman, but you can be admirable too! Here are three tips I learned from my mother (who I admire a lot!):

1.   Put yourself in the place of others and do to them what you would like them to do unto you. I remember when a new pastor and his wife arrived in the country where we were working and at the moment stayed at our house. They were exhausted from the trip, the move and the time difference. Less than an hour from their arrival, my mother (who was also visiting us at the time) offered to help the pastor’s wife iron her husband’s shirts. The young woman was obviously too shy to accept her offer but my mother insisted, took the ironing board and iron and asked her to bring some of her husband’s shirts because she was going to iron shirts for him to use that week. I remember thinking “my mom is the best!”.

2.   Always be a giver. One of my mother’s habits, which is very nice for those who know her personally, is to show her gratitude with a gift. I’m not exaggerating when I say that every time I go shopping with my mother, she buys something for someone. It can be something like: I’m going to visit her next week, I want to give her a good pair of shoes, as well as: She’s so good to us, I want to give her something, or even: It’s so and so’s  birthday next week. And to top it off, she doesn’t keep a calendar with anyone’s birthday, it’s all in her memory! How do you do that mom?

3.   Think of others more often. My mother is not the kind of woman you will find in a group. She hardly goes out, that is something greatly appreciated by my father. However, she makes it a point to let people know that she cares about them. A church driver had surgery and I watched my mother ask him how he was feeling, what he was eating and what he could do to minimize the effects post-surgery, I remembered how sometimes we are so focused in our lives that we are blind to see what is really happening around us.

Cristiane Cardoso