Today is International Women’s Day 2017, and while each and every one of us has our own experiences relating to this year’s theme, I thought I would share with you my own recent reflections on how I have been Bold for Change. I was honoured to share my experiences at the Graduate Women Queensland Sunshine Coast Branch International Women’s Day Breakfast last Saturday, and in preparing for this event – as any good researcher would proceed – I leapt into my homework activity and asked Google for definitions of “bold”. While some were rather risqué, I found some definitions with which I sensed a strong affiliation, and I shared some of my good, and less-good, life experiences around these definitions.

1. Confident and courageous, daring and brave. Regular readers of the blog, and anyone who knows me beyond my peer-reviewed publications, will know that I have had more than my share of physical challenges. It never ceases to surprise me that, on a weekly basis at a minimum, I encounter someone who is surprised to see me working, mothering, contributing to my local community or the global community more generally. Yes, staying at home and resting all day would definitely be the easy thing to do, but I do not seem have the gene that allows me to do this! I was also brought up by a confident and courageous, daring and brave mum (and dad) who encouraged me from the cradle to leave my small farming community and move to the capital city and gain a degree, something girls are NOT supposed to do. I see my own daughter being confident and courageous, daring and brave, doing the same, and it reinforces that I (and my mum) have done the right thing, and I couldn’t be more proud of both of them.
2. Not hesitating in the face of rebuff, or to break rules of propriety. Kudos again is needed for my mum (and dad) for raising a strong-willed (I prefer ‘tenacious and resilient’, while my husband is more likely to use ‘stubborn and pig-headed’) daughter, who is living the family motto of leave-the-world-better. Sometimes this means that there will be rebuff, and sometimes this means breaking rules of propriety. So be it. I am confident and courageous, daring and brave, and I WILL leave the world better.
3. Not afraid to speak up for what she believes, even to people with more power.  Change will not happen unless people – women! – who are confident and courageous, daring and brave, and who do not hesitate in the face of rebuff and do not hesitate to break the rules of propriety are not afraid to speak up for what they believe. Others may have more power, but to me that means that others can join me in tireless quest to prevent injury among our most precious, our children. I have worked very hard through my studies, and my life post-PhD, and through these efforts (and experimentation with my own children!) have developed, implemented, and evaluated some highly innovative projects. Change not only requires bold thinking, but bold actions, so I walk-the-walk, not just talk-the-talk.
4. Not afraid of difficult situations. Every day is an opportunity to learn: you might learn something about yourself, about another, or about something as lovely as a pet cat or dog. I am a big fan of reframing and looking at the positive of any situation, no matter how dire. A difficult situation is a fantastic opportunity to learn, and not only can you learn to manage difficult situations, you will also learn from these difficult situations, by being confident and courageous, daring and brave, and speaking up. It’s important however to remember to listen, and to talk with, not just talk at or be talked at. Everyone likes to be talked with 🙂
5. Willingness to take risks. I am willing to take risks. I have been in a medication trial, and being number 23 in a world’s first double-blind study was scary, particularly when there was a massive list of potential side-effects, including death, and I had two small children, a husband and a mortgage. I have also taken many risks during my studies and in my post-doctoral life by treading a less-conventional path, and indeed I prefer to live life generally as an open book. Life is much simpler that way. Doing this has required me to be confident and courageous, daring and brave; to speak up; to not be afraid of difficult situations; and to be willing to take risks. I take educated risks, however, and use all my nous, research skills, and social supports to take every step to help these risks translate into injury prevention, whatever my endeavour.
6. A final message?  Whether you are a woman on International Women’s Day, or someone who shares the planet with a woman on International Women’s Day (or indeed any other day), you can make a difference and you can prevent injury, by being bold for change 🙂