You’re a mother, daughter, sister, best friend, wife, girlfriend and your boss’s favourite employee – oh, and you’re also the captain of the netball team. You are that woman who wants and is doing it all. But you don’t have to be Superwoman. Boitumelo Mmakhou explores this “syndrome”.
According to life coach Megan Galloway, the superwoman syndrome is not a medical condition, however, many women will know first-hand the pressures of feeling like you have to do it all and do it well. But how to deal with it?
Identify it. Very often the reason we try to do it al is the unrealistic expectations from society. While knowing that you can do it all is can be great confidence booster, but you also need to be careful that you do not create the illusion that you can do everything on your own.
Dangers. If you are too wrapped up in achieving everything on your to-do-list, you can end up missing out on precious and fleeting moments of life. Not taking the time to relax and enjoy the good things life has to offer can be dangerous for your health. Constantly pushing yourself beyond your limits can have negative results like low self-esteem, depression, anxiety and burnout.
How to curb it. You need to change your thinking pattern. You need to stop pressuring yourself to be perfect. Be honest and have a real conversation with yourself as well as other women. You can create a support system with other women close to you to share your experiences. Ask yourself:
- Do I really need to do this?
- How can I be gentle?
- How can I bring a sense of ease into what I am doing?
- How would this moment be best spent?
