DocSwiner's Superwoman Complex Blog

I’m fresh off the heels of my annual women’s event, New Year New You 2018, from this past weekend, and I’m still smiling from ear to ear.

This year’s event almost didn’t happen. Last year, with planning, funding, snowstorms and management of people and their personalities, I was burned out. I told the team “We’re taking a year off.” But, then multiple women started reaching out. After 2 years, they had become accustomed to the idea of getting together, in a room, with up and coming lady bosses, doing new and phenomenal things in life, business, work and career and enjoyed the camaraderie, support and new ideas that spring from a meeting like this. So, I said, “ok,” but we’re going to do it differently this year—-less stressful and more intimate. More meat, less frill. And, we had a blast.

I’m going to bring that attitude with me in 2018. More meat, less frill. More bang for my buck. Work smart, not hard…and all the other clichés.

I chose the theme of RESILIENCE for this year’s event and for good reason. Webster defines resilience as “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness: the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.” I see it as not giving up, despite adversity. Bouncing back after loss or disappointment. We dove into this deeply during the conference and shared our stories to uplift one another.

Take this with you into the new year as you deal with challenges, and apply to this to life’s past difficulties.

As you probably know, I preach about the killing of the superwoman complex, to help working women and mothers establish balance by focusing on self-care, selfishness and self-love. It’s life saving….literally. By giving women the permission to take time out for themselves, we’ve been able to cut down on treatment of high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and anxiety. And, the stress….oh, the stress of these recent years.

Discrimination is linked to stress.

Hating your job is linked to stress.

The #MeToo movement, although necessary and important, caused stress.

Political issues are linked to stress.

We have to kill the stress before it kills us.

As I prepare to turn 40 in April, I remind myself of my journey through my 20s and 30s. I’m a much stronger, wiser me now. I stand up for myself more and demand more respect, from my patients, staff, friends and colleagues. If I want it, I plan it out and go get it. And regarding resilience, I face rejection and failure head on, and either move forward and not let it hold me back or confront it and deal with it. No more passivity in 2018. I’m a real “grown woman” now.

And in the room, at the conference, I saw mirror images of both my former and current self: fellow “superwomen in recovery,” following our 12 steps together. In that room, I saw doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, mothers, caretakers and more, but more importantly, I saw women. Strong, yet delicate. Independent, yet vulnerable. Battered, but resilient.

My hope for you this year, and for myself in my 40^th year, is that you leave with new connections, refreshed energy and exciting ideas to improve your self-care, work-life balance and mental health. Turn your past challenges into opportunities to affect change. I hope you are also encouraged to start a new business venture or improve your current business model.

Women, particularly women of color, hold this world up. We shape shift and codeswitch and make stuff happen—in our homes, at work, in politics and in our environment. We have been hurt by past relationships, family members, employers and coworkers and let down by our government. But through it all, we persevere and move forward. And for that, I, for one, am proud to be a superwoman. Cheers to you in 2018, and happy 40^th to me.

Love,

DocSwiner

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**2018 OFFERS JUST FOR YOU:

1. I’m offering free 15min. sessions, for January 2018 only, at www.calendly.com/docswiner/15min

2. I have also begun a monthly self-care subscription box program, called the Superwoman Survival Kit-$20/month with goodies, monthly meet ups with me on FB and quarterly one-on-ones. Sign up here: bit.ly/superwomansurvivalkit