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Let’s Go Girls:

A Lesson in Perseverance

ave you ever heard country artist Shania Twain’s song
“Man, I feel like a woman”? At the beginning, when
she sings “Let’s Go Girls,” it feels like no matter how
H bad your day is going, she believes in you, so you pick
yourself up and get moving.
This past year has been a crazy challenge. Navigating a pandemic
that made the world stand still was the ultimate challenge of my
career, and to be frank, my mental health. I run a martial arts club,
so everything that I’ve dedicated my life to was deemed “non-
essential” during the pandemic. We had to cancel a 700 participant
tournament the night before the event. We had to cancel our
Girls on Fire Conference which was ready. Everything that I had
envisioned for 2020 was gone in an instant. Not to mention, this
unstoppable, serious health risk was rampaging through the world.
A few times during the past 18 months, I felt giving up on
my dreams, finding a 9-5 job in an industry unaffected by the
pandemic. I would be comfortable, I wouldn’t be reaching for
government support, I wouldn’t be walking through this black fog of
uncertainty. But every time I wanted to give up, I heard that lyric “Let’s
Go Girls” and it was like a tiny lifeline that kept my head above water.
Keep going girl, you’ve got this. Chase your vision. Be the light for others who
are lost. Tough times never last, but tough people do – and girl, you’re tough.
So I would wake up, get dressed, and take small steps every day that worked
around the rules of the lockdowns. My team and I did over 150 hours of Zoom
classes. We did socially distant private lessons. For Girls on Fire, we started a program
called Sparklers that allowed us to mentor girls for 8 weeks in small groups. We did
YouTube videos. Every day, just showing up and giving it 100%.
We have since reopened to our full capacity. I have had many conversations with
my clients where they said, “Thank you for showing up. Thank you for doing what
you could. I needed an outlet for my mental and emotional health and you and your
team provided it when we needed it most”. This was the greatest lesson of them all; you
don’t know who is watching you. You don’t know who you are empowering by having the
courage to chase your purpose and your vision. The next time you feel like giving up, I
say to you, Let’s Go, Girl – you’ve got this. Fight for it.

Irene Lay Photography

THERESA STANLEY
PHOENIX TAEKWON-DO CLUB / GIRLS ON FIRE
CONFIDENCE CONFERENCE & WORKSHOPS

theresastanley@phoenixtaekwon-do.ca
phoenixtaekwon-do.ca I 780-458-3989

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WOMEN IN PROCESS