Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Get Organised!

Tensely tidy

Miserably messy

What to do . . .

Chapter 2: Look Like a Supenvoman

What to do. . .

Chapter 3: Feel Like a Supenvoman

What to do . . . .

What this will do . . .

Chapter 4: Build Positive Relationships

Burnt chop

Bossy boots

Feather soother

What to do . . .

Chapter 5: Change Those Negative Mind Patterns

What to do. . .

Some patterns which may need a change

Chapter 6: Control Your Finances

What to do. . .

Coping with Superwomandom

First published 2003 by Wrightbooks an imprint of John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

33 Park Road, Milton, Qld 4064

Offices also in Sydney and Melbourne

Typeset in 12.2/15.5pt Giovanni LT Book

© Margaret Lomas 2003

‘Superwomandom’ is a trade mark of Margaret Lomas

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Cover design by Rob Cowpe

Illustrations and cover illustration by Leigh Brown

Superwomandom is not about being in the right place at the right time. It is about making every time and place that you are in right for you.

Introduction

Six Steps to Superwomandom

I recall watching a television program where an interview was being conducted with a celebrity sportsperson. She was married with two children and was introduced as being a ‘superwoman’.

Listening to her talk about travelling with the children and the nanny, coping with her busy three-hour-a-day training regime while preparing these two children for school and making lunch for her husband (being sure she left the kitchen tidy for when the cleaner came!), I couldn’t help but think uncharitable thoughts about her right to be called a ‘superwoman’.

About a week later, an article was written about my work with my latest financial book. In this article, I was referred to as a ‘superwoman’ who works, writes and cares for five children. The article went on to express amazement at my abilities to achieve these seemingly impossible things on a daily basis.

The thing is, I have actually been a superwoman for approximately 18 years now—it’s just that before I had a modicum of fame as a writer, the term used for the amazing feats I performed on a daily basis was ‘working mum’! Not quite the same as being a superwoman I am afraid, and with far less notoriety.

As a working mum, in any one day I performed many and varied activities. I made five lunches, tidied five bedrooms, prepared dinner for seven, taxied a few children around to various sporting fixtures or other engagements, read bedtime stories to two or three children, mended clothes, assisted with homework, did a few haircuts, supervised after-dinner kitchen clean-up, counselled those of my children with a problem, washed a floor or two, put on the washing did the ironing, planned the next day’s dinner, shopped, paid bills . . . oh, and of course slipped in an eight-hour day at work as well! The point is, no-one ever called me a superwoman then, when I really deserved the title.

With life as hectic as it is today, women not only labour to fulfil the expectations of others, but often we place unreal expectations upon ourselves. We see these interviews with famous sportswomen and feel sadly inadequate, despite achieving feats of gargantuan proportions without thinking twice about the efforts we are making. We troop on in sickness and in health, often with little recognition for our efforts and certainly barely any financial reward.

Having been a superwoman myself for so many years, both before I had children and since then, I have travelled the gamut of emotions and capabilities—sometimes I have done well, other times miserably, ending in a heap and being no good to anyone. But over these years I have worked out that there really is a method—a set of skills, so to speak—to being a superwoman. Furthermore these skills are quite easy to learn and put in place. They don’t cost any money, don’t require you to attend expensive courses, and don’t rely on the actions of anyone but you.

To that end I have developed these basic and easy-to-follow strategies for ensuring that you too can be a superwoman without having to burn yourself out, appreciating yourself and your efforts along the way while you help those around you to also feel good about their own lives. And you don’t have to be a mum with five children to be a superwoman—any female can do it.

The aim of this book is to provide you with a quick pick-me-up—an instant shot of enthusiasm, encouragement and motivation. If you follow the six simple steps contained in this book, ‘superwomandom’ will be yours. And, even if you never become famous, even if no-one ever writes articles about you or interviews you on television, you will remain, forever more, a superwoman.

Margaret Lomas

Glenning Valley, NSW, February 2003

The Six Steps to Superwomandom