Are You Trying To Be Superwoman?
A few years back, anyone who had known me for some time would have asked me the same question.
I was the kind of person who took pride in juggling the many different balls until I started to drop them one by one… slowly… painfully and at times disastrously with very grave consequences. My lifestyle was getting so hectic, one of my friends told me if I don’t change I’m going to have a heart attack soon and drop dead.
I am doing the school run, managing to get to work just in time, after driving and rushing through the snail-paced traffic, getting frustrated, and even having near misses. I am experiencing health issues constantly and under enormous stress moving from one task to another, driving from one place to another, and having no time to pause and take count of what’s happening within me, around me, and to me.
- Perhaps your day starts with school runs, having to rush off not having enough time to enjoy the moment or to give a hug to your child.
- Might be you are worried about getting late to work or pressing issues at work: you hardly have the energy or distracted to enjoy the time with your child or have a fulfilling conversation with you your loved one.
- You are tired even before you start the day; get worked up, stressed, and losing your temper.
- Maybe you are so lethargic; you binge on sweets, crisps, and caffeine just so that you can get through the day.
- Perhaps you are piling on weight, suffering from headaches, aches, and pains regularly, and must visit the doctor often but don’t get time to make the appointments.
- Might be you are cooking, cleaning, and trying to send that last email at 11 p.m. before you hit the bed. You are so tired, but when you hit the bed, you can’t sleep.
At last, you pause, breathe, and check what is happening. You realise you cannot carry on the same way and sustain the current lifestyle. You go on a journey of self-discovery, start your personal-development journey and get into a self-care routine. You start to embrace yourself for what you are and develop self-belief regardless of what others tell you. You learn, grow and start doing what truly makes you happy.
People know and love for what you are. You are known for following your passion and serving your needs and of others. You are adding value and making a difference!
- You have time to: do something and enjoy it fully without pressure or worrying about the next thing, next appointment, or worse the feeling of missing out.
- Can show up to see your kid perform at school without worrying whether you can get time off or be distracted the entire time about how to get back to work.
- Can go and have a haircut, facial, or massage where you can relax fully and enjoy your experience without worrying about what you should be doing once you finish or worse attending to phone calls and emails while you are there.
- Able to read that book, you have been waiting for months, just put up my feet and watch your favourite TV show or want to go on a date night.
- Time to have a heart-to-heart conversation with your friend over coffee without getting disturbed, distracted, and disconnected from the conversation you have been waiting for for so long.
- Want to be able to knit that scarf, travel to your favourite dream destination, and at last start striking off the bucket list.
- Know yourself, understand yourself and accept yourself for what you are with the strengths, weakness, talents, and limitations.
- Develop your self-belief, and step out of your comfort zone, step into your power and step up your life by growing and expanding.
- Surround yourself with people who believe in you, accept and love you for what you are, not what they want you to be.
- Build a community where everyone supports, encourage and cheer for one another without reserving judgment, having a safe space to open up and share how you truly feel, get assistance and learn from each other.
- Start and maintain a self-care routine: try incorporating a few minutes for meditation, mindfulness, reading, exercise. Start eating healthy and stop self-sabotaging.
- Do One thing consistently which will allow you to grow and expand.
- Ask for advice, assistance and achieve your greatness!
Originally published in LinkedIn on October 6, 2019
