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A post shared by Elephant Journal (@elephantjournal) on Jul 26, 2018 at 5:00pm PDT

“That’s when you know you’ve found somebody special. When you can just shut the f*ck up for a minute and comfortably enjoy the silence.” ~ Mia Wallace

~

Wait, what?! You don’t know who Mia Wallace is?

Here’s a quick refresher:

Mia Wallace is the iconic female lead character (played by the fabulous Uma Thurman) in the 1994 film “Pulp Fiction.”

She instantly beguiled and captivated audiences because she was sexy, seductive, funny, unpredictable, and smart. She was “unusual,” and we loved every second of her refreshing presence on screen.

Sadly, she was also married to a gangster and had a drug problem, but we’ll leave those “bad parts” of her story out of the equation and focus on her true essence, which was a reckoning force.

How can we channel our inner Mia Wallace and become the badass women we were born to be?

1. Get up and dance. Anywhere is fine. And we should always dance like we “mean it,” employing one signature, memorable move. Life is too damn short to stay seated while our favorite songs are playing. And if there’s a dance contest involved, even better!

2. Be two steps ahead of everyone. Know what will “happen next” and always try to play the opponent, not the cards. Human behavior is predictable. Once we know and understand this, it’s much easier to navigate the world and all the curve balls that are surely hurled our way.

3. Keep people guessing. Being spontaneous is fun, especially when we bring others along for the ride. Spontaneity is not always appropriate, but most of the time it serves as much-needed stress relief for all involved. It also sparks joy, which is an important component to being a badass.

4. Rock a sweet haircut with ruby red lips. Seriously—it’s high time we stopped being afraid to be bold, or different. Wearing what we want (age appropriateness be damned!) whenever we want is one of the many things that makes us interesting. If we want to be like every other woman in the room, we would wear a black dress with silver jewelry and be in bed by 9:30. But we are not other women. We are badasses who stay up until at least 9:45.

5. Stand up to men and ask questions. Just keep on asking, “Why?” Or, “Why the hell not?” Asking why acts like incessant pecking, and eventually we can peck a tunnel so deep, we’ll be able to see clear through to the other side—where equality beckons us with open arms.

6. Be authentic. Don’t forget who you are, and let them see the “real” you. Also, let your silliness shine whenever possible, and truly, it’s almost always possible. Having a great sense of humor and not taking ourselves too seriously is absolutely badass, because it makes others feel comfortable about being themselves too.

7. Be uninhibited. Who cares what people think? It’s what we think about ourselves that matters.

8. Flirty is fine, but don’t take it too far. Expertly sucking a thick milkshake from a straw in front of a person who is not our partner is a tad bit too far (tsk, tsk, Mia), but looking directly into someone’s eyes when we speak to them is decidedly not. It’s a power move we should all practice.

9. Stop worrying about our quirks. Quirks and general weirdness are what make us unique, and unique is the top descriptor of every badass that ever lived.

10. Be direct. Passive-aggressive behavior and words act like quicksand—we get nowhere fast, and our resentments only grow deeper, taking us under with them.

11. It’s okay to be mysteriously dangerous, as long as the “danger” we exude stems from inner confidence and strength (instead of mobster connections).

12. When we wear the power outfit, we will feel powerful. It’s a fact. Mia wears the white shirt and cropped pants with no frills except for the killer haircut and those memorable red lips. She appears to be able to hold her own, and everyone knows it. This is simple, but it’s the signature of a true badass.

Deep down, we are all women like Mia Wallace who can handle ourselves and our lives without intervention, dependency, advice, or a couple of hit men showing us a good time.

Being a badass is mostly about simply taking charge of our situations—it’s about owning our actions, rocking some style, and doing wonderfully crazy things in the moment without holding anything back. In other words, it’s about knowing who we are, and looking people directly in the eye so they know who we are too.