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Women Can Have It All, Just Not All the Time

Two opposing armies of women, the stay-at-home mom /caregiver versus the career woman have been clashing since the feminist movement when women were led to believe that “you can have it all baby.” In this often uncivil war each one has claimed victory in the quest for personal fulfillment and happiness. However, the victory claimed by each side has been exaggerated and the next generation of women isn’t buying it. At the same time stress has increased over the last twenty years and for many the economy has dictated two income households.

The buzz words, “work/life balance “and “happiness” clamor for some new sense of reality. Anne-Marie Slaughter asserts that women have to juggle in her article, “Why Women Can’t Have It All” in the Atlantic Magazine. Is Slaughter right or do women have it all and just don’t know it?

I wonder why we spend so much time trying to understand the nature of reality for an entire gender when it is far more productive to create that reality for the self.

Here are case histories from women who experience stress in their specific roles:Life is a series of choices and we are not condemned to relive the past. A journey to a destination doesn’t always have a straight path; besides the detours can be more interesting. It’s time to get reacquainted with your heart.

5 questions to make peace with your emotions and deepen your sense of well -being:

  1. Do you have any unfulfilled dream/dreams? Begin with one dream and promise yourself that you will take a single step, no matter how small, to fulfill it today. You know what happens when you delay car maintenance, you just might lose your drive.
  2. Do you appreciate your health? Disease stirs up dis-ease inducing a pause in your life. Begin with gratitude for being above ground and build on that successful accomplishment.
  3. What low practice inhibits you from being the best that you can be? Start a new habit.
  4. Do you lose your way because you need to be right and others wrong? Try to keep an eye (I) on yourself. Life is about creating you.
  5. How do you perceive the world? Optimism, caution, pessimism, jealousy, or cynicism? Don’t believe everything you think. Changing the lens can help you get a new perspective.

For more information on managing your stress and reclaiming your life read my book, Addicted to Stress: A Woman's 7 Step Program to Reclaim Joy and Spontaneity in Life. To listen to archived radio shows with guest experts visit Turn On Your Inner Light Radio Show


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Content copyright © 2013 by Debbie Mandel. All rights reserved.
This content was written by Debbie Mandel. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact Debbie Mandel for details.



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