WHO ARE YOU LISTENING TO? PAYING ATTENTION TO THE VOICES THAT BOMBARD WOMEN TODAY by Colleen Langenfeld
There are a lot of voices in the world today.
So many are telling others what they should
- or should not - do.
And most of them are not helpful. If you are a
busy working mom, you know what I mean.
I love to listen to all kinds of working mothers.
To hear what they're really saying.
Some of what these incredibly busy women say
wouldn't surprise you.
For example...
- On one working moms website discussion board,
lots of moms rallied 'round to answer the simple
question of 'how do you get it all done?' The
answer? 'We don't' was the overwhelming cry,
punctuated by words like 'exhausted', 'crazy',
and 'burning out'.
Who have we been listening to?
We say we want to have it all, but I have
discovered that many, many women don't even know
what that means for themselves. How will we know
when we 'have it' if we don't know what it will
look like?
That's a recipe for exhausted, crazy and burned
out.
So who do we listen to? Here's an idea.
Do we have the courage to listen to ourselves?
For some of us, that might mean acknowledging that
we don't know exactly what we really want out of
life. And that can be a painful admission.
Introspection can lead us from discomfort (at our
own lack of self-knowledge) to self-confidence in
the plans we make for our lives.
The key is personal growth. The real test is, are
we merely busy or actually growing? As any working
mom can tell you, busy-ness is no guarantee of a
meaningful life. We all want excellence, but too
many of us settle for exhausting attempts at
perfection.
M.Scott Peck, M.D. began his book 'The Road Less
Traveled' with the profound words 'Life is difficult.'
In Western society, these are words we shrink from
hearing, as if not hearing them could make them any
less the truth they are.
Who are we listening to?
Maybe we are surprised by the sheer effort a
meaningful life takes. Sensible effort, of course,
not overwhelming craziness!
Maybe we are frustrated that the effort required
may not look at all like what we've been striving
to accomplish.
So how do we know if we're aiming at actual results
or empty busy-ness?
A healthy example never hurts. LOOK for someone
worthy to listen to!
Find another woman you respect and admire. Someone
who has seemingly made the kind of sense out of her
life that is attractive to you. Then invite her out
for coffee and ask her to share her secrets. You'll
probably hear that not everything is quite the way
it appears, that life has been a struggle for her,
too. Moreover, she just might share that life is
better when you start letting go of the pressures
hovering over you and begin focusing in on what
matters most to you.
It's the old adage of focusing first on being, then
on doing.
Want more? Practice your 'being', by searching out
another busy mom and being a mentor to her. Believe
it or not, you are farther along the road of life
than someone else. You have special wisdom to offer.
And it's through the offering of that wisdom, that
you can see the gifts you already possess. That can
lead to the beginnings of real inner peace.
Now you're listening.
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Colleen Langenfeld delivers deals, tips and
creative resources to working moms who want
the most out of their homes, families and
careers at http://www.paintedgold.com . Sign
up for our free newsletter and get an
online Creativity Toolkit as our gift to you!
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