03 You Can Do It All, But Why?

Hey there, my fellow executive women. Where are you right now as you listen to this episode? Are you sitting still with your beverage of choice? Or are you multi-tasking, listening while you are juggling several tasks, meetings, the kids, your parents, laundry, grocery shopping, etc.? 

Or perhaps you have a great team that you can depend on, but you’re so used to doing things “your way” or avoiding the frustration of “having to do it over again,” you decided to do it yourself.

Listen, I know you can do it all and that you are capable of juggling multiple tasks, but why should you? It’s been a  very, very busy week. When I look at the personal and professional assignments completed this week, I get tired just by reading them. I used to try and do everything myself; my way, getting it right the first time and in my timeframe. If my name was attached to it, it had to be just right. Well, ok, I still struggle a bit with this one, but trust me, I’m a lot better than I used to be. So why is this such a struggle for women? Especially Black women and women in leadership positions? I’ll tell you why.

Join me on the podcast this week to hear about how long it took me to realize that I couldn’t do it by myself and the trials and tribulations I have gone through along the way. I CAN do it all, but why? See you inside the episode.

What You Will Learn:

• Why it’s important to slow down and let go to avoid crashing
• To curb your inner critic and fear of others judgment
• To prioritize the important things, especially yourself and your health
• How and why you should self reflect and see where your time is going vs. where you want it to go

Hey there beautiful, and welcome to the podcast. Today I’m going to share why even though you CAN do it all, it doesn't mean that you should. I have struggled with this for years, decades even. I’m not sure where the concept of juggling 12 different (and sometimes unrelated) things came from, but it’s time you changed the program.

I remember it all started in college for me; captain of the dance team (formerly known as the pom-pom squad); carrying 18 credit hours, working 60+ hours per week, choir rehearsal, social life, and then church on Sunday mornings was my routine. I continued at this pace for several months until it landed me in the hospital. Here is what happened.

Working, going to school, managing the dance team, working overtime, and avoiding an ex-boyfriend that was stalking me (this was before the “stalking laws” came into effect) had me operating on little to no sleep. I was always looking over my shoulder, always taking on more shifts to show that I was a good employee, and without realizing it, I was coaching the women on the dance team. If someone needed me, I was there all while starting a new relationship.

One night, after returning from a date with my new boo at the time, we were sitting in front of my house in his car when I complained about a monster migraine. Jokingly I said to him, “my head hurts so bad, you’re going to come to visit me in the hospital.” We laughed it off, and I went into the house to go to bed. In the middle of the night, I woke up in a cold sweat. 

My bedroom was on the second floor, and the bathroom was on the first, so I started making my way down the stairs slowly, as it was darker than I was used to. My mother liked to keep the blinds open in our family room which meant that the street lights should have illuminated the room, but it wasn’t; it was dark.

Having walked this path many times before, I slowly found my way to the kitchen. To the kitchen’s right was the bathroom; I was almost there,...