OK, so you are a mature accomplished working woman with stature and with clout. Good for you! Let me ask you, what is your responsibility to your job? What is your responsibility to your career? What about yourself? And your significant other? What about your responsibility to your children, neighborhood, church or other community volunteer position that you hold?
As women what I have experienced first hand and what I have observed over and over again is that we as women have no clear boundaries about where our “true responsibilities” lie and that we are responsible for; and where we “voluntarily” pick up and take on other responsibilities that we have no business shouldering nor carrying at all.
I don’t want to hear this one: “….but, I have to; if I don’t then xyz will happen and ……blah, blah, blah……” Who gets the benefit? What does the person getting the benefit “learn” about taking the responsibility? What did you get out of the whole thing? Well, I can pretty much guess the answers to these questions and they are not what one wants to instill in those that we are modeling behavior for.
Let me ask you, “Do you truly enjoy taking on so much responsibility?” Does this task actually give you energy, make you happy or lift you up and moving forward? I think not. I think what it does do is drag you down, give you heartburn, add stress of the “outcome” on you and your family and totally drains you! Am I right?!
So how can you change this predicament? This is so easy that I almost have to chuckle. Start with looking the other way. When the “presentation” of the dilemma of responsibility is presented to you as if to ask: “…ah….hey…do you want to take this one or this one over here…..?” Turn on your heels and say: “….this ones yours….” and do not look back in fact leave the room so there is no comeback.
Here’s another answer: “NO”. Do not engage in any further discussion. Once you open your mouth or make eye contact, you are inviting further discussion!
So try it today. Let me know what happens.
