You Can Do it All

No more goofing off into the late summer nights: back to business, new schedules and school routines. The responsibilities you threw out the window in August are back on the to-do list in October.

Many women struggle to find balance and sanity while trying to accomplish the work of Superwoman. With the catchy title, “Why Women Still Can’t Have it All,” Anne Marie Slaughter’s 2012 article in The Atlantic created much controversy as women across the nation debated on whether “having it all” was just a myth.

According to Patricia Falotico, an IBM executive, women need to dispel the myth that work and life have to be equal parts all of the time. She shared a personal story of when she was caring for her sick father. “There were days when I had to be daughter first and executive second,” she said.

“I’m really concerned about people feeling like they have to define balance based on anyone else’s definition. It’s got to be what works for you,” says Marilyn Midyette, CEO of Girls Scouts of Greater Atlanta, Inc. She tackles “having it all” in seasons. “In one quarter, I may hunker down because I have major initiatives I need to get accomplished. In another quarter, it may be my kids are getting ready to go off to college, and I want to be present for that.”

For a visual picture, local therapist Teresa Renner suggests that you imagine a pile of balloons at your feet. Write one responsibility on each balloon: work, son, daughter, partner, grandparent, family time and self-care. Now throw them up in the air. How hard is it to keep them all afloat? But what happens to the ones that do fall to the ground? They’re resilient, bouncy, patient.

Could this be true of our real “balloons?” Could we take turns with responsibilities as our seasons change and let some fall gently to the ground – if just for an hour, a day or week?

Last month I watched with admiration as my employees practiced the art of choosing which “balloon” to keep in the air as they strived to be present during changing life seasons. Some had kids starting middle school, high school and even going off to college. Husbands traveled for work, grandkids visited, self-care took a turn and a couple weekends were devoted purely to business initiatives. Because of their efforts to make conscious choices for their time and devotion, they entered their new beginnings with peacefulness, fewer regrets and energy for what comes next.

As you settle in to the changes the fall has brought, challenge yourself to find the deep satisfaction of balance and peacefulness that can only come from within, when you are just exactly where you need to be in the moment that life hands to you.

*Quotes taken from www.womenpoweringbusiness.com.

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