"Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" - we've all heard of it…This non -fiction book spent 121 weeks on the bestseller list in the 1990's. There must be something in that!
The phrase remains a great metaphor for describing the huge differences in the way that men and women think and act. We women are just different; we worry more, we plan more and (based on my own experience) have a tendency to try and do waaaaay too many things at the same time…. I think of it as being a serial over-committer.
I'm currently trying to rehabilitate myself to just say no …. So far it's not going that well, but I'm working on it.
Feeling stressed or anxious is normal when you're over-committed or constantly out of time- it tends to build up and every now and then blows out! Queue a bloody good cry watching a soppy advert on TV - sometimes that's it all takes. Ladies I'm sure I'm not on my own with this one?
If you're a serial over-committer (like me) I've listed some top tips that I find really helpful. I'm sure there are more but these are just a few that I find really work:
Just say NO
Realistically you will need something more socially acceptable… Based on my experience any of the following work well:
- no thank you
- no, that's not for me
- no thanks
Note: this is a lot harder than it should be