Being “Superwoman”: Balancing Act or Silent Dream Killer?

As someone who has helped and interacted with many women, encouraging them to become entrepreneurs, I’ve noticed a common reason keeping many from pursuing their dreams of starting a business: the syndrome of being a superwoman. These women often become the family’s go-to person to relieve mental, emotional, and financial burdens, leaving them too drained to invest in their own ambitions. The inconvenient truth is that many women choose what is good over what could make them great, forgetting that not all good things are necessarily God’s things. But if you’ve made up your mind to pursue and manifest the vision for a business God has put in your heart, there are three key steps you need to take to prioritize and protect your assignment.

Be Settled in Your Mind 

The first key is being settled in your mind that God has called you to this venture. Obedience in carrying it out will position you to help others from a place of abundance, not drain. The Bible says that the blessing of the Lord makes one rich and adds no sorrow to it. Though obeying God in starting a business has its challenges, the peace of Christ and the comfort of the Holy Spirit come with pursuing God’s call. Remembering the purpose of our assignment helps us to use it as a source of encouragement when faced with challenges.

Be Free

The second key is to release yourself from the belief that you have to solve everyone’s problems. Often, it is not your responsibility, and they will find a way out if you don’t come to the rescue. You might feel selfish, be labeled as such, and possibly lose some relationships. However, once you accept that God has called you to a specific assignment, the decision and any loss of relationships become more manageable. We often don’t realize that by being someone’s go-to, we might prevent them from turning to God. God uses struggles to gain attention and provoke personal growth. By intervening, we might interfere with what God is using to bring about their greater good.

Create a Plan

The third key is to create a plan for your time, resources, and venture. This will establish necessary boundaries and accountability. Allocate specific days and times to work on your venture, treating this commitment as seriously as you would your current job, as it may one day replace it. Create a budget for your resources, and dedicate a bank account to your venture. Even if it’s as small as $5 from each paycheck, it’s important to consistently allocate something towards your venture. Treat this money with the same priority as your rent or mortgage payments, and use it solely for your venture. It is a seed that you are meant to sow in YOUR garden. We are constantly sowing into everyone else’s field and wonder why we have not seen a harvest. Lastly, develop a comprehensive plan for your venture. This will not only boost your confidence but also provide a stronger sense of urgency, direction, and foundation. This way, when issues arise that might tempt you to revert to your old ways, you have something substantial to reinforce your resolve to say NO.

In conclusion, I want to encourage you to find peace in saying NO. As the eldest sister in a family of superwomen who were always the family’s rock, I too fell into this pattern. But God helped me recognize and break free from this habit. It’s not easy and often comes with guilt (which does not come from the Lord), but the cost of constantly saying yes – my calling, assignment, and obedience to God –was too high a price to continue paying.