Women Entrepreneurs, Do You Really Want Everything?
The reason why many of us women feel exhausted on all planes - physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually - of our existence is because our social conditioning has lured many women into believing in, and adopting as values, the myth that
We SHOULD want everything*.
“What do women want? I know what you want: EVERYTHING! … Do you know what men want? Food, sex, silence. That’s it! … Our goals seem very attainable, don’t they?” Chris Rock, Bigger and Blacker.
Chris Rock follows up with what men, on the other hand, want. This is where I paid attention, because one of the reasons why men appear to excel professionally and in business is because men generally think in concrete and specific terms.
Being Concrete and Specific Creates Goals that are Attainable.
Women, on the other hand, are more process-oriented. For example, I had a tendency to think and express myself in ambiguous terms and in feeling “tones”. My process-oriented capacity serves me well when creating an open space for brainstorming. However, process-oriented thinking can get me stuck when making a business decision.
Therefore, women entrepreneurs, ask yourself 2 Key Questions:
- Define “Everything”
- Do you really want “Everything”? (You may want to identify within your definition what is a NEED versus a WANT)
Once I defined for myself what “everything” may include, I find that I sometimes can’t juggle and manage all the things that I already have.
This is when I begin to clarify what is a “need” versus a “want”, and prioritize.
I’ve learned not to want everything, or at least, to think that I do want everything.
I breathe easier, feel lighter, and attain more of what I want.
*I observe that the social conditioning of wanting “everything” by women may be paraphrased as, “I must be the Top Dog at Work, Mother of Year, Community Activist, have a Killer Bikini Bod, be a hairline shy of Enlightenment, and have poreless skin… and I must have it ALL RIGHT NOW.”
Talk about it with me at Blending Business and Parenthood: This is not “how to have it all”
FOLLOW THIS DISCUSSION on my thread at Evan Carmichael’s website forum.
