Wander Woman

My excuse is predictable--I haven't posted much lately because I'm working to meet my book deadlines. Life is too busy, too chaotic and unpredictable to stay in touch. Sound familiar? Yet after watching the movie, An Education, I am grateful for my crazy, full life. It wasn't too long ago women had so few options in life that marriage seemed like a good escape from a colorless future. Not that nursing

I would have thought that High-Achievers looked at life as an abundant well of opportunity. After reading Lloyd Thomas' article on Scarcity, I have a different perspective. Kahil Gibran writes: "to be thirsty when your well is full is a thirst which is unquenchable." A scarcity mentality is when, no matter how much you have, it is never enough. You remain continuously unsatisfied. High achievers feel this way when they have a gut sense that there is always something more to achieve. Therefore, you might have a belief that your accomplishments, or the recognition for what you can achieve, will never be enough. The upside is that you are driven to accomplish great things; the downside is that you limit your celebration of what you have created so far in your life. If it's not good enough, it's not time to celebrate. When you come from scarcity, you tend to limit your consumption. This includes drinking in the beauty of your life. On the darker side, you may feel resentment about others who have what you lack (grander achievements). This further serves to effectively exclude you from feeling proud of what you have accomplished so far. To reverse the psychologically damaging effects of a scarcity belief, you must engage in paradoxical behavior. In other words, whatever you need, give it away. Give someone else recognition for something you could have done yourself. Help other people today even though they could outshine you tomorrow. Create celebrations of achievement for others so that you may reflect on your own path. Help others feel acceptance, significance, joyful and proud. What grander accomplishment can you create? Does this sound strange? As Lloyd says, "If you don't understand any of today's column, simply explain it to somebody else." It's time to stop and appreciate what wonders you have created to date in this life. There are many more things you can and will do. And, you truly have time to take a moment to sit back and admire who you have become.

I just signed a contract with a major publisher to publish a book for high-achieving women based on my research and the Burden of Greatness. I'll share pieces of the pages with you as I go along. I know I'll use some of these posts. Please comment whenever you feel the urge when share thoughts with you; I could use your insights. Thank you for your support.

Thank you to all the coaches who showed up in my session at the ICF conference to hear about my research on the current generation of high achieving women in the workplace. My heart pumped wildly as over 200 women raised their hand declaring they are a part of this somewhat misunderstood and mostly mismanaged generation. When I defined who they are and how they differ from the generation of