6 things a strong woman will never compromise on

Ladies – we grow throughout our entire lives.

Every day, and every experience whether good or bad, makes us stronger.

But if you’re anything like me, you might struggle sometimes to find the balance between being kind and being strong. 

There are times when I wonder if I’m overreacting to something, if I should be more flexible, or if I’m in the right to put my foot down and set boundaries. 

It took me some time, but I eventually started seeing where the limits between these two things should be, and what a strong woman should never compromise on.

This list now serves as a guiding star to me, and I hope it can do the same for you. 

Without further ado, let’s jump right in.

1) Getting the respect you deserve

Respect is one of the most basic needs that a strong woman — or anyone, for that matter — should never compromise on.

Everyone knows this, but putting it into practice is a different story.

Personally, there were situations where I felt uncomfortable but I wasn’t sure if it was really a lack of respect or I was just being triggered.

For example, I find it disrespectful when someone doesn’t let me speak or constantly talks over me. But sometimes my friends do this, not because they don’t respect me, but because they’re so excited to share something that we all interrupt each other. 

With time, you’ll find where your own boundaries are, and know how to gauge the intention of the person with the context of the situation.

So, what to do about it if someone doesn’t respect you?

You don’t necessarily need to tell them off in front of everyone, and you definitely shouldn’t start treating them poorly in return — they’re responsible for their decisions, and you for yours.

If you need to have a relationship with this person, talk to them about your boundaries and concerns. And if they don’t listen, then this relationship is not worth having in your life. 

2) Going after your goals

If you have someone in your life that stands in the way of you reaching your goals, this person really needs to change their ways – or get out of your life.

First, give them the benefit of the doubt — they may not be doing it on purpose, or realize that they’re blocking your path.

Like my friend’s family. She is very interested in psychology and was considering pursuing a career as a therapist. 

But her family knew how sensitive and compassionate she was, and encouraged her to go for a different degree instead. They were worried about the toll that such a difficult profession would take on her own mental health. 

They had her best intentions at heart — and they also didn’t understand the depth of her interest and passion.

So if you have a similar situation, start by having an honest conversation about what you’re trying to achieve, and why they seem to want to stop you.

Best case scenario, they’ll understand how to support you better — and worst case scenario, you can distance yourself from them and eliminate an obstacle on the path to your success. 

3) Staying healthy

Another thing a strong woman should never compromise on is her health.

Ladies — we rarely think about it when we’re feeling fine, but your health is the foundation of a good life. Most people only realize just how true this is when they get a health problem.

But of course, you shouldn’t let things get that far.

I saw this in a friend of mine — and fortunately we were able to stop the situation from getting worse. 

She was working a demanding job, and one of her colleagues went on paternity leave. She found herself picking up his tasks, but she still had to take care of all of hers.

So as a result she was working a lot of overtime including on weekends. She couldn’t switch her mind off work and found herself unable to sleep well, so she was too tired to exercise or cook.

After a few weeks, she started seeing the impact of this situation on her body and mental well-being.

Thankfully, her boss was very understanding when she spoke to him and they worked together to define a more manageable workload for her.

No matter if it’s work or something else, if something is damaging your health, it needs to change. 

4) Maintaining your personal values

As a strong woman, living in alignment with your personal values is essential. 

This shapes your identity and guides your choices. So of course, you should never compromise on being able to maintain your values.

Here, I have a rather inspiring example. I know a couple where the woman is vegan, and her boyfriend wasn’t. 

You might think this kind of relationship will cause a lot of conflict — but he fully respected her choices and never stood in the way of her following her values.

He was happy to eat vegan meals whenever they cooked together, and made sure any restaurants they chose had vegan options.

So you don’t necessarily need everyone around you to share your values, as long as they let you maintain yours.

If my friend’s boyfriend made comments about her diet or complained about how difficult it was to find a restaurant for both of them, that would be a different story. 

5) Forming your own opinions

This might sound a little silly — because since our opinions our formed in our own minds, it might seem like “of course we’re the ones who form them!”

But let me give an example.

Several years ago I was at a party and was approached by a guy who started chatting and asked me to dance.

And a while later, another guy who was an acquaintance already came to tell me to stay away from this guy, saying he’s creepy and doesn’t treat women well.

I was confused, but took what he said as a kind warning from someone who cared.

But I also kept an open mind, and allowed myself to get to know this guy without putting myself into any dangerous situations.

And you know what? I’ve been friends with him for several years now. Sure, he’s got some quirks that people may not understand, but he’s overall an extremely kind person and would never hurt a woman. 

Something about him must have just rubbed the acquaintance the wrong way, or he may have made assumptions. 

If I had just taken his opinion on as my own, I wouldn’t have this great friend in my life today — so make sure you never compromise on coming to your own conclusions.

6) Keeping your own independence

Last but certainly not least, a strong woman will never compromise on keeping her own independence.

In essence, this summarizes all the other 5 points above — if you’re fully independent, then you’ll set boundaries to get respect, you’ll take care of your own health, you’ll follow your own values and goals and make your own opinions.

But what does it actually mean to be independent?

This is something of a buzzword these days, but a lot of people confuse it for always saying “no” or never being flexible to accommodate others.

In relationships, at least those you care about, you can and will make concessions and compromises. And that doesn’t affect your independence!

What matters most is that the decisions you make come from you — and not someone else who dictates to you what you should do.

It’s you who decides you’re putting your friends’ needs as priority when you agree to what they want. It’s you who decides you’re going to a party, and not because someone else pressures you to. 

As long as you live by this rule, you can feel at peace with your life, because you know you stand by everything you chose.

Build your inner strength as a woman

Ladies, now you know 6 key things that a strong woman will never compromise on.

I hope you follow all of these already — but if you realize there’s something on this list that you’ve been too lax about, now’s a great time to make a change!

People respect strong women, but it’s up to you to set that standard. 

And when you make that change, you’ll be sure to see it reflect super positively on all your relationships.