Integrating My Feminine and My Masculine Within The Business Context.

I had a phase during my entrepreneurial journey and also generally in all areas of my life, where I explored and liberated many of my back then unlived/suppressed feminine aspects (for those who are unfamiliar with this term: feminine and masculine qualities is a concept of polarity. All genders, all creations, all situations have feminine and masculine aspects/energies/qualities to a different extent, and they are fluid. One theory states that some people have a feminine essence and others a masculine, or a strongly fluid essence. I will write about it more in the near future). 

Back to the topic: I always strongly questioned the way the entrepreneurial sector was operating, I didn’t resonate with the masculinized way of building a company. I wanted to explore what else there was, what else matched my blueprint better. So at some point I decided that I wanted to have the freedom of not having to put an alarm clock in the morning, of waking up every day and tuning in into what felt right doing or not doing, following my natural (including my menstrual) cycle instead of a predefined work week. I dropped all the strategizing, numbers goal setting, had very little to no structure (masculine). I fully followed my intuition and learned to deeply trust, went with the flow and just did what felt right in the moment, what I felt inspired to do, where joy led me (feminine). I wanted to experience 'the other side'. To be able to do that I had to let go of many patriarchal conditionings I had stored in my system that would not allow me to live like that. I did a lot of other things than working on my business, spent time in nature, with my family, myself and my friends, did a lot of embodiment practices, went deep into exploring the magic of life and hidden parts of my self, healed a lot, liberated myself from many limiting beliefs and patterns, explored and studied human dynamics and their roots, dove deep into what sides of myself I had suppressed, expanded, dropped into being, and so much more. It was the opposite of how I started my business the masculine way: strategising, clear goals, planning, doing, always moving forward, and putting most of my time on the company. 

Both ‘extremes’ or poles, showed me their beauty: operating more on the masculine (or yang) side of the spectrum I actually created a company, built a business model that works, created freedom for myself, and so much more. However, I was not fulfilled, very often stressed and under pressure, tense in my body, had too little time for myself and my loved ones, I was not living my truth, and was more in my head than in my body, etc. 

Living from the feminine (or yin) side of the spectrum I gained a big and important partnership that provides us with a constant flow of new clients, the moment I started trusting and fully letting go of pressure, when I stopped pushing sales, and started doing the intuitively right thing instead of many things. I lived in the moment and achieved exactly what I envisioned, doing every day what felt right depending on my mood, cycle, and inspiration. I became much more healthy, fulfilled, soft, joyful, relaxed, calm, playful, alive. However, at some point, this free creative flow turned into chaos, unmet potential, and the company had no power to grow. What was missing amongst other things, was the container, the solid base and structure, the clear direction (all yang or masculine aspects that I fully dropped before).

The masculine without the feminine becomes destructive. The feminine without the masculine becomes chaotic and dissolves. I am oversimplifying things here for the sake of time and simplicity, but I hope you get the point.

What I observed is, as with everything, balance is the key. Balance doesn’t mean the same amount from both poles, nor finding the middle point. It’s a dance between masculine and feminine, actually a becoming one, a merging of both, moving around on this fluid spectrum, and a healthy integration of all aspects. For me it is also about learning which aspects are strongly rooted within each individual, which qualities feel more natural. And then it's about figuring out whether they are more natural because we are conditioned that way or because they are our true natural essence. Everything is also always cyclical. Different phases require different qualities and a different focus - a different quality on the spectrum.

But generally spoken, this world definitely needs a lot more yin/feminine. Of course with a healthy (amount of) yang/masculine. 

So since around May 2020, after a long period of 'living the feminine' I started integrating more of the masculine again, and exploring the right balance in each moment, in each phase. For me this never just happens on a personal level or on a business level, it’s always affecting both. My business is always a mirror of where I stand personally. The effect of integrating both masculine and feminine is exciting and fascinating to witness and I would love to share more about my learnings on this journey. Can you relate to this path? Can you notice where on the spectrum you operate more? Are there aspects that you don’t live at all? Do you feel they are just not yours or might they be suppressed, unlived because of conditionings? And would you like to read and understand more about the feminine and masculine in business, how they can be fully integrated or unhealthy or immature?

Would love to read your thoughts and feelings about this.