Welcome to Moxie week! I am so excited. The approach of Moxie week has been percolating around in my little brain all week. Yes even while gratitude week had been humming along beautifully. I mean going from annoyed to basking in the possibility of life changing gratefulness is a pretty good week by any standards! But MOXIE week?! This calls for a whole new game!
I even think it calls for a NEW definition!
This is where I have been coming from during previous Moxie weeks (on my old blog, this is the first Moxie week at Bliss Habits)
MOXIE – The ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage; vigor; verve; pep.
It is a perfectly acceptable definition. I find it encouraging and I like the part about facing adversity “with spirit and courage.” What this definition lacks for me is a kick ass, get your hands dirty, I am here on the planet to have my voice heard and to make things happen sort of enthusiasm.
Yes, I’m sure Amelia Earhart. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Rachel Carson were able to “face difficulty with spirit and courage” but that quality alone is not what has them stand out as a person with Moxie.
I also don’t like that I have genderized it. When I hear it I immediately think a woman must be the subject. Yes I want women to feel empowered but a pull you up by the bootstraps, champion of the greater good, keep you going even when things get tough type of word should be available to the entire population.
Moxie intimates a sense of adventure to me. A type of boldness that requires being ok with surprise endings and an ability to make promises bigger then yourself. Moxie asks for our best and it mandates we step out into the unknown while offering trust that we have the capability. She is kind… no WE (not He either) and keeps a raucous and inclusive sense of humor. Moxie does not discriminate and lives as a promise to be honest and true to ourselves.
Moxie is not one size fits all. Helping an old man pick up his groceries, not laughing a racially biased joke, raising your hand in class even when you aren’t sure of the answer, telling your dearest that you disagree with their point of view are all forms of Moxie. What unites them is if the act has you push past your personal edge. If you and your Sweetie regularly banter about differences of opinion then doing so for you would not be moxie. If however, you have always kept quiet about a personal opinion and decide to share, you most certainly are treading in moxie’s waters!
So, (this is where I ask for your help!) have I left out any nuance you believe should be there? And now that I have distinguished what I believe Moxie to be, what should the definition be? Four paragraphs is terrific as an inquiry but it is less then optimal for general use. I am convinced that what we specifically focus on makes a huge difference which is why I chose all of my definitions carefully and want Moxie’s to be upgraded. Currently my definition does not live up to the word’s potential.
I love this word and it is time I defined it in a manner fitting of it’s magnificence.
Will you help? I will be working on this through out the week and would love to have your input. If all goes well, I plan to reveal the new “official Bliss Habits definition” by the end of the week so please share any and all ideas as soon as you have them. Moxie thanks you.
Well, I think it is more than that, actually! Here are three words that I feel sum it up fairly well: energy; spunk; spirit. Yes, there is an essence of ‘bravery’ which I feel you spoke of well, but it’s more than just the willingness to put yourself out there and DO IT….it’s putting yourself out there and doing it WITH STYLE!
For me, it’s a tiny bit of fury/anger. I know that SOUNDS not-so-great, but it’s something about myself I have come to deeply honor. It’s that SPARK of fire that a tiny bit *too* intense sometimes that has gotten me off my butt and made me want to push forward.
It might be because of my health stuff- in my particular case, it served me very well to be VERY aggressive with my health than to be passive with it. So I have used the little bit of fury I’ve got inside me in a lot of really amazing ways.
I will admit that sometimes it DOES burn in an unpleasant way and I find myself letting it out in ways that don’t go with my personal commitment to compassion (ie arguing instead of disengaging, raising my voice, gettign anxious), but in general, I can harness it for great things.
So an odd perspective of Moxie, for sure, but I thought I would throw that into the mix!
Oh, Jingle- sorry for responding to you particularly- I meant to respond to the post in general!
Yes!STYLE! You got to a slice I had totally missed! Thank you!
Whee! Oh Jingle & Chel are tapping into it just like you did…I love it! I want to find the words but all I can do is speak to it in my body – the FEELING I get when I think of moxie. It is a burning, a passionate fire that sometimes warms a chilled-lethargy and gets me moving, sometimes a little lick of flame that just makes me giggle and sometimes a full-force crackling bonfire that moves me beyond logic.
And by the way…I keep thinking “pep”. That word makes me happy.
What a great post! It’s definitely inspirational. Kudo’s for helping empower women and bringing a big smile to my face.
Btw, found you via Pascalea’s Monday Happy Hopper’s Blog Hop!
I think your definition actually sums up the word pretty well. But maybe the word ‘ability’ is a bit weak. What about relating to the blog title and saying the ‘habit’ of facing difficulty with spirit, courage, etc. Or it could even be ‘the courage to face adversity with spirit, vigor, verve and pep.’
Love it! And you’re definitely on the right track. Got me inspired to get my Moxie up!
What’s coming up for me is moxie with mojo! This is a great definition. I suspect it will grow and evolve and dance across this page as you continue to live the spirit of moxie in your work and in this blog. Rock on. . .