3 Stress-Inducing Habits The Most Successful Women Need To Break, According To A Psychologist
Transform challenges into opportunities.
Anastasia Shuraeva | Pexels It's challenging to juggle the many jobs we hold, such as mom, business owner, wife, partner, volunteer, friend, and many others. Research on the concept and framework of stress explained the types of stress and how some stress in life feels overwhelming. Life is full, which is great, but it also leads to stress.
We can easily create the stress we try to avoid. But it's time to override that conditioning and ask for what we want in life. Will it be easy? No. Do you have what it takes? Yes! If you observe successful women, you'll notice a pattern. They each started on a difficult journey, but learned to transform challenges into opportunities.
Here are 3 stress-inducing habits the most successful women need to break, according to a psychologist:
1. Believing you have to do everything on your own
Women are at their best when we collaborate. The more we can come together for a common purpose, the greater the difference we can make together. Each woman's journey is different, and learning from each other by openly sharing our knowledge and wisdom is the key to helping each other grow to be the best we can be.
Competitiveness and constantly worrying about someone being better than you is not going to serve you in the long term, nor anyone else. A 2022 study found that "Hyper-competitiveness was independently and positively associated with mental health problems" in women. Instead, focus on positive collaboration and how you and the women you know can help each other move forward.
2. Refusing to ask for help
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As women, we already feel pressured to prove ourselves. But if you want to make things happen and live the life of your dreams, you must ask for help and accept support when it's given, instead of going crazy from stress.
Successful women, who are living their dream lives, know they don't have all the answers and they're OK with not knowing everything. Instead, they surround themselves with other like-minded people who contribute to a collective brain-trust and share the resources that have helped them. Truly effective women also believe that they deserve to receive help and support, which is why they make sure they invest in several mentors who've trekked the path they're trekking.
3. Treating yourself like an afterthought
Women should strive for their best, but not at the cost of their health.
If you want to look back on your life without regrets, knowing you did the best you could, you need to look after yourself and contribute to yourself first. There should be no excuse for forgetting to look after yourself and not giving yourself a time out.
Never underestimate the importance of personal quiet time to self-reflect and check in with yourself. A 2018 study on how self-reflection and self-awareness aid in the recovery found that "raising the level of self-awareness increases resilience during hard times, and [helps] heal from trauma." Self-reflection will give you clarity. And feeling guilty isn't the reason to put yourself last.
The more energy, time, and care you give to yourself, the more you can give to others. It's as simple as that. In reality, you'll never have enough time to "do it all." You have to create time by scheduling self-care in your calendar, as many successful women I've talked to have done.
You're in charge of creating the life you most want to live.
So, if you feel exhausted or overwhelmed most days, or you feel like you just aren’t making the kind of impact you'd like to make, and you're ready to actively avoid making the same mistakes over and over, then I invite you to surround yourself with women who want the same thing as you.
Suzi Petrozzi is a Wellness Psychologist + Women's Empowerment Coach. She empowers smart professional women to get clear on what they want, take charge of their lives, and make it happen!
