Identifying your traits and the true power of the feminine

By RITUALS
Fri Jul 29 2022
3 min read

Mo explains what masculine and feminine traits are and why understanding them may bring more joy to the world, plus enjoy a calming meditation to boost your positivity.

Article: Rate your traits

Discover the power of feminine and masculine traits and how balancing them both will bring more joy to the world.

Let’s start with the basics: feminine and masculine traits are not constricted to gender or biology. “We all have every trait within us, just in different quantities,” explains Rituals’ ambassador, Mo Gawdat. “My analysis says there is a statistic correlation in terms of the recurrence and intensity of certain traits among the biologically female as well as the male so that is why I call them feminine and masculine traits. And the reason it’s important to identify them is because we have all suppressed many of them,” explains Mo. “We live in a capitalist world that is driven by predominantly masculine traits - it’s competitive, results orientated and about ‘doing’. We don’t use many of our feminine traits that are about ‘being’, such as intuition, because we’ve been led to believe they’re not as valuable, that they don’t contribute enough to making a salary at the end of the month or producing more stuff. But we’re ‘doing’ too much of the wrong thing. The traits that inform us of the right things happen to be feminine - creativity and empathy - and we need to magnify them to help bring more joy to the world.”

And there are tangible examples of this at play already. When global firm Deloitte asked 5,000 employees to rank the most important values that make a good leader, three of the top five were traits associated with the feminine - communication, flexibility and patience. And in the world of politics, the phrase ‘soft power’ - where negotiations are reached through co-opting rather than coercion - calls upon the use of feminine traits over the masculine. President Obama is a prime example of a leader that used feminine traits to get positive results.

But how do we bring this back to us and our everyday lives. It’s about recognising the traits that we naturally turn to by default and questioning whether by using others if that would get a better outcome. ‘Some of our traits get exercised more frequently and there are some that we have repressed,’ explains Mo. ‘No trait is bad, however by utilising others you get a different perspective, may be able to solve issues you couldn’t before and good things will happen to ourselves, our family and the world.’

How to rate your traits

*Look at the list below and think about which traits you display most when you’re at work, with your friends and with a loved one.

*Give yourself a score from 1 to 10 for each trait for each scenario, and tally your results to see if you’re balanced or lean more to the feminine or masculine

*The next time you need to solve a problem, argument or issue at work think about what trait you would normally call upon and see if using a different one solves the issue in a more positive and balanced way.

FEMININE TRAITS

Intuition - is the ability to sense with your gut, to know what the right thing is but not really be able to quantify why. If you have too much it can make you unfocused.

Playfulness - it’s important to be playful in life because it’s what makes even the most arduous of tasks that bit more joyful. However too much can mean a lack of commitment to finishing something you’ve started.

Appreciation of beauty - being able to find the beauty and joy in things around you is a wonderful ability to have, but focusing on it too much can take you away from the realities of life we all have to deal with.

Empathy - feeling what someone else is feeling is an amazing trait, but too much means your focus is weighted towards the negatives in the world.

Creativity - to have amazing ideas without the constraints of reality is wonderful, but too much means you end up constantly thinking of possibilities but not turning them into realities.

Being - is the ultimate feminine trait as it centres around feeling things. However, if you only stick to that you won’t get very much done.

MASCULINE TRAITS

Linear thinking - is being able to envisage all the steps needed to solve a problem, but too much of it can make you stubborn.

Control - knowing how to deal with situations and create a plan to get the best results is a great skill to have, but too much doesn’t allow for any spontaneity.

Strength - is a trait we have all needed since caveman days as it taps into our innate need to survive. However, too much strength becomes aggression and violence.

Compassion - is the ability to do whatever needs to be done to alleviate negativity, but too much of it means you can numb yourself to feelings.

Assertiveness - means you can get your point of view across and make yourself heard, but too much can lead into bullying.

Action - some action is always essential, as it means things get done, but too much of it deprives us from connecting with ourselves.

Meditation: Become more empathetic with this reflective meditation

It’s so easy to let negativity, never-ending to-do lists, life admin and love dramas to fill your mind and take over. Our busy lives and over-crowded minds mean we often don’t prioritise taking the time to stop and allow ourselves some quiet reflection. This meditation helps you focus on what will move you forward in a positive and uplifted way.

In just seven minutes, this practice creates some much-needed peace, allows you to calm your mind and truly focus on your priorities and positivity. By allowing yourself this time you are gifting yourself self-compassion, bringing joy to yourself and to the world. And surely that’s the best thing you can give yourself today, and every day.