Advice From A Woman We Know

Today I saw this tweet...

 

I have raised four daughters with one still in the house. I have thought a lot about their futures and how the world will treat them. And as advice goes, I have to agree with the words spoken by the former Presidential candidate.
 

However, unfortunately today many are having trouble coping with the fact that she did not win the election. Many have claimed sexism. While I can give no definitive answer for the minds and motives of 100 million people, I can disagree with that assessment in a large sense.
 

My opinion goes to the second bit of advise that should go to little girls (and everyone really). I wholeheartedly agree that women need to recognize their value and power. It is important for women to know this value does not come from the approval of men or even a man. The value of a woman is not restricted to her beauty, as she will be told far too many times in her life time. That is quite an important message for woman of all ages, but especially younger ones, to receive and understand.
 

However, Hillary Clinton failed to clarify some very important details about deserved opportunities. This advice is less gender-based and more universal. It is that what one deserves is not a guaranty and opportunities can be lost. When things fail, sometimes there is no one to blame; sometimes the universe has an un-serendipitous fluke to its occurrences. We must all know that we are not entitled to what we deserve.
 

With my own daughters, I take this message one step further to tell them sometimes the loss of deserved opportunities does have fault - and that fault can be our own. I tell my daughters to guard against lying, cheating and being motivated out of selfish purpose - for these behaviors will rob my girls from changes that would be there otherwise. What might once be a deserved chance can change to something unworthy all because of how she conducts herself and how she approaches the goal.
 

Yes, little girls watching, don't doubt yourselves. Know your value. Take the deserved opportunities as they come. But never think of yourself and your power as above others. For if you do, your fall from glory may be terribly harsh, and you may desire to charges others with the cause, but in your heart you will know you have robbed yourself and diminished your own value.