Now, before I start, I should make
a disclaimer that this could be titled the “Superman Complex” as well. I, however, am a woman and have no idea how
the male brain works. Appropriately
then, I will title it “The Superwoman Complex”, not because I know how each and
every woman’s brain works, but because I know, as a woman, this is how my brain
works. And to write from experience is
the most authentic and genuine I can be.
That being said, I have no doubt that men quite possibly struggle with
this very same thing, so feel free to keep reading.
I often feel as though I am not
enough unless I am consistently active.
It is not enough for me to simply wake up, go to my classes, do my
homework and be done for the day. No,
every minute of my time must be scheduled or I am not being productive. I am not accomplishing
if I am not busy. Perhaps I am not the only
woman who feels this way: who feels as though she will not grow up to be
anything unless she is constantly “going”.
As women I think we often get stuck in this “Superwoman complex” as I
call it.
The Superwoman complex is the idea
that we can do anything and be everything all at the same time. We develop this thought that taking time for
ourselves is selfish and unnecessary. That
we better excel in every single class we take and keep up those GPA’s. That we need to be involved in every single
organization and we better be in a leadership position for at least two or we
will never be hired in the future. If a
friend is having a rough day, we better be ready with a tissue and words of
wisdom. Remember to call our parents,
our grandparents. Turn in our
application for the honor society. Get a
job so we can pay our student bills. Be
charming, put together, and know how to work a pair of heels. Be loving and womanly and kind and
attentive. But careful, if it’s a guy
make sure you’re not too attentive
because that’s clingy…oh, and limit your emotions. And in the middle of all this, we would hate
to miss out on anything so we say yes when asked to social events even though
we have approximately zero time. Because
we are Superwoman and we should be able to function on two hours of sleep and
still run the world the next day. The
Superwoman Complex.
But here’s
the thing, it’s not healthy for us to try and be Superwoman. Yes having goals, aspirations and being
involved is a great thing to strive for, but when are we going to draw the
line? When are we, as women, going to
start waking up and realizing that it’s okay to take fifteen minutes, an hour, a
day to ourselves? That we are human, and
being human means that we have imperfections and limits. That even though we may feel like we have to
be on a continuous sprint just to keep up with the world, that we are
enough. Put all that effort you use trying
to be “enough” into just being yourself.
Because what is beautiful and amazing and mind-boggling is that there is
only one you in this entire world. On
this planet there is only one you with your combination of talents, dreams, and
fears and you bring something uniquely “you” to this world that another person
does not and cannot. You are human and
being completely and unapologetically yourself is one of the most awe-inspiring
things you can be. You don’t have to be
“everything”, because the world already has Superwoman. All it needs now is for
you to be you.
