This article is taken from the upcoming Issue 4 of our magazine. Issues 1, 2 and 3 are now available through the App store and Google Play store. Please subscribe to the Great Health Guide magazine – (subscription FREE for limited time only)

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You Don’t Have to Be a Superhero – But You Are! written by Suzanne Henwood

Have you ever looked at other women and thought that they have got it all sorted? They just seem to have everything in order, life seems to constantly be on their side and everything goes right for them? And if you have – have you then compared them with yourself and thought you must be doing something wrong?

We all have stories to tell. Amazing stories of getting up after being knocked down, of resilience and bravery, yet we do not see the amazing things we do. Somehow we belittle ourselves in ways we would never dream of doing to others. In sharing some of my story, I want to encourage you to speak out and tell your own stories, to recognise just how much you do and how much you bring to others and how, if you just reframe your definition, you recognize that you are a superhero after all. To me a superhero is someone who gets back up and carries on – and keeps giving.

I moved from the UK to New Zealand in 2008. I moved to an organisation I had previously worked remotely with, so I thought I knew what I was walking into, yet I found myself in the most toxic of work environments that I had ever experienced. I am not going to go into the detail of that (which inevitably would be only my perception of what went on), but it is to highlight that I was (in my view) a strong, capable woman. I used to coach others and train people to cope in difficult work situations but nothing could have prepared me for being completely ignored and isolated by a few senior colleagues who undermined every aspect of my role and contribution. I very nearly broke, I even considered taking my own life as I found I could not see any way forward. Nothing I tried seemed to make any difference. I felt lost and at the end of my tether.

So how do you get out of such a hole? Two things happened to turn things around for me. 

• Firstly, I learned about mBraining and through that I learned to manage my own autonomic nervous system to moderate my reaction to the situation. This was probably a life saver for me and it was through learning about this new field that I went on to train to be a Master Trainer in mBraining. I established my own company (mBraining4Success) to be able to offer this life changing suite of tools to other successful, intelligent, capable women, so that they too can shine again. 

• Secondly, in another reorganisation at work I found myself under a different manager who treated me like a human being of value again.

So who am I? I am a woman of faith and I believe I have a purpose to fulfil. I am not one of life’s geniuses, yet I have published several books and have acquired the title of Associate Professor and I am the Director and Lead Coach and Trainer of my own company. I say this not to boast – far from it. I really am just an ordinary woman and I have had along the way, extraordinary support and learning which has made things possible. That has meant I have achieved things far beyond my expectations and therefore so can you. 

Does this mean life is now a breeze? No far from it. I am facing yet another reorganisation at work. And three weeks ago I was driving home from the airport having been to a conference, when I received a phone call from a neighbour. “Where are you?” he said, “There is smoke billowing out of your house – you better get home”. You can imagine the rest of that story. I focus on the blessings that no one was hurt and I celebrate in the small things we found to salvage. My wooden nativity scene which is now my only Christmas decoration and some photos, which were so tightly packed they survived in charred albums. I started writing a Phoenix Gratitude Diary on Facebook to focus my mind each day on the blessings and the things I am grateful for. I get up again and continue to take steps forward…

My passion now is about inspiring and supporting others to believe that whatever adversity that they are facing they can get through it. They can rise, like an eagle and soar … not in an unrealistic way, not in a Disney type fantasy – but in a real life way which can be difficult.   It can happen because that is what we as superhero ladies do, we pick ourselves up, we dust ourselves off and we carry on, supporting others along the way. It is more than OK to seek support and it is more than OK to lean on someone on the journey. You are more than enough to deal with whatever life throws at you. You may just not have realised it yet. 

Author of this article

Dr Suzanne Henwood is an Associate Professor in Health and Social Sciences in Auckland, New Zealand and the Director of mBraining4Success. Suzanne is a coach, trainer and consultant using NLP and mBIT and works with real people to awaken, empower and evolve them by accessing their own inner wisdom. Suzanne has a website and a Facebook page to reach people and works with individuals and community groups to offer affordable high quality coaching and training.

This article is taken from the upcoming Issue 4 of our magazine. Issues 1, 2 and 3 are now available through the App store and Google Play store. Please subscribe to the Great Health Guide magazine – (subscription FREE for limited time only)

or