A few weeks ago I was listing to a female CEO being interviewed about her career as she offered advice to women looking to achieve similar success in their career's. Near the end of the interview the woman was asked, "What do you think the main difference between female and male professionals in positions similar to yours is?".
She responded by stating that most women have a constant tape running in their heads questioning every move they make which sometimes causes lack of confidence. This response resonated with me, I am one of those woman. If I spend a long day at work I feel satisfied that I have accomplished a lot in my work day but harbour some guilt for not spending enough time in that day with my husband. When I have a weekend where I decide to turn off the email and devote all my attention to my family and friends, my mind tells me that I should have spent some time working. If I stand up for something I believe in and speak my mind knowing that not everyone will like what I have to say, I wonder if it was worth ruffling feathers.
The woman continued by stating that men just do not question themselves in this manner. Now, I can not read minds so if there are any men out there reading this post, please feel free to chime in with some insight. I can confirm that my own head does work as the woman being interviewed explained.
I am very aware of the way my brain second guesses my daily decisions so I try to overcome these negative thoughts and feel good about the choices I make but everyone once in a while, they do creep in. One of the reasons I started this blog was to get some of those thoughts out of my head allowing myself to sort through things a little better. So far writing things down has worked wonders for me.
I also follow quite a few blogs, most of them are written by woman and I think reading about the celebrations and struggles that other women face makes me feel connected and normal.
To those of you who let your internal voice take over, lets work hard to be satisfied with what we accomplish at the end of the day, not be afraid of standing up for what we believe in and simply be a little easier on ourselves.
Time to press stop on that never ending tape.
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