“Is this it?”
“Is this what my life has come to?”
“I’ve got so much more to offer.”
Sound familiar?
If your life is consumed by housework, no wonder you feel superior – of course you have more to offer! I don’t believe that any woman on the planet has nothing more to contribute than cleaning and tidying. However, that doesn’t mean we should never do it. We have more to contribute than pretty nails but that doesn’t mean we should avoid manicures!
This sense that time spent on housework is a waste seems to be most popular among women who consider themselves particularly talented or intelligent. If you bemoan the travesty of the world being denied your gifts, then you must believe that you have something of value to offer. Which is a good thing…unless this high self-esteem is met with low self-expression.
Frustration arises from not making use of your wonderful abilities. Though the resulting resentment will be aimed squarely at what you are doing instead – namely housework – that’s just the symptom. The root cause is what you are achieving (or not) in the rest of your life.
The solution to this is simple – be all those other things you have to give! Be brilliant and talented and charming and wonderful. Go out there and shine your light! Express yourself. Instead of lamenting what you have to offer the world – start offering it!
Doing this will take the pressure off the domestic front. Whether the work is ‘beneath you’ will become less of a concern. If you have an outlet for your own particular brand of genius, you’ll be less likely to begrudge a little down-time to take care of you and yours.
Yeah, but…
I expect the natural reaction to this suggestion to be; “But I don’t have time to express my talents because of all the bloody housework!”
But I have a three-pronged argument for that response.
Firstly, we always make time for the things that are truly important to us. Think how you fit in organising a wedding or Christmas, a new baby, moving home, holidays etc. These are all time-consuming activities over and above your usual routine, yet they ‘mysteriously’ get squeezed into the schedule. If you want to do something enough, you can always manage to shoehorn it into your life. (I’m afraid this begs the question which might provoke some serious soul-searching; Do you want to use and express your talents enough?)
Secondly, telling yourself you don’t have time makes it a reality! Try telling yourself that you can (and should) squeeze in some time to express yourself – and prepare to be surprised.
Thirdly, magic happens when you follow your path. When you embark on the work that only you can do, your own unique purpose, the ‘forces that be’ get behind you. You will be amazed at the co-incidences and opportunities that will appear. One of my favourite quotes is from Napoleon Hill’s classic book on success and achievement, Think & Grow Rich, He writes:
“The world has a habit of making room for those people who know what they want.”
So try shining your light and just see what happens!
(I promise not to say, ‘I told you so.’)
* * *
As always, I’d love to hear what you think!
Danielle
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Housework Blues is available now in paperback and ebook formats. Click here for more details.
Picture credit: Flavio Takemoto
