Dear Younger Women: Stop Rushing Your Becoming

Wisdom from experience: What I wish I'd known about becoming the woman you were created to be.

Sheila Goodwin

Founder of RS50 / Executive Assistant FCSO

Rightsideof50, Inc.

This piece is emotionally grounded, reflective, and very cohesive. It reads like intergenerational wisdom rather than generic motivation, which is what gives it strength. The tone feels warm, experienced, and reassuring without sounding overly instructional.

A few things work especially well:

• The opening immediately establishes credibility through lived experience rather than authority.
• The repetition of “I would tell younger women…” creates rhythm and intimacy.
• The contrast between online performance and real-life emotional complexity is highly relatable and contemporary.
• Lines like:
• “Stop rushing your becoming.”
• “Some people are assignments, not lifelong attachments.”
• “Strength also looks like softness.”
• are memorable and quotable.
• The ending lands well because it shifts from societal expectations toward identity and purpose.

The strongest thematic thread is this idea that growth is nonlinear and that self-worth should not be tied to timelines, comparison, or performance. That thread stays consistent throughout, which gives the article emotional clarity.

A few refinement suggestions that could elevate it further:

• Tighten a small amount of repetition around “society” and “young women” to improve flow.
• Consider adding one brief personal example or lived moment to deepen emotional specificity. Right now the piece is universally relatable, but one concrete memory could make it even more powerful.
• The middle section is strong but dense. Breaking it with one short reflective transition could improve pacing for digital readers.

For example, a line like:

“What took me years to learn, many young women are now trying to navigate in public.”

could create a smooth emotional bridge.

The closing is strong and publication-ready. This line especially functions as an excellent final takeaway:

“The goal is not to become who society expects you to be. The goal is to become the woman you were created to be.”

Overall, this reads like a polished thought-leadership or women’s empowerment article suitable for:

• LinkedIn
• women-centered leadership publications,
• wellness or personal growth platforms,
• keynote messaging,
• or a future essay collection/book on identity, healing, leadership, and becoming.