The “I Can Do Anything” Mentality

Somewhere along the road of life, I picked up a mindset that sounded strong on the surface.

“I can do anything.”

And for most of my life, that mentality has served me well.

As a woman, I’ve spent years fighting for my place. Fighting to prove that I belong. Fighting to show that I can hold my own.

Especially in agriculture.

When you’re a female farmer, sometimes it feels like you walk into every space already having to prove something.

So you learn to work harder.
Lift heavier.
Stay longer.
Push through.

And before long you develop the mindset of:

“I can do anything you can do.”

And the truth is… a lot of the time, I can.

I help build fence.
I pull calves.
I run equipment.
I hold things together while Jason welds.
I fix things… or at least attempt to fix the things I accidentally broke.

Farm life doesn’t really allow for people who are afraid to try. But lately I’ve been realizing something.
That “I can do anything” mentality might be catching up with me.

Because somewhere along the way, it stopped meaning I am capable… and started meaning I have to do everything.



The Weight Women Carry

Because it’s not just the farm work.

It’s the cooking.
The cleaning.
The bills.
The planning.
The kids.
The caregiving.
The emotional weight of the household.

And somehow women are expected to carry it all quietly.

We run the equipment and run the house.

We work the cattle and work the schedule.

We fix fence and fix everyone else’s problems.

And when the day is finally done…

It feels perfectly normal for a man to kick off his boots, pull off his socks, and sit down.

But if we do that?

We feel guilty.

Like we forgot something.
Like we should be doing one more chore.
One more load of laundry.
One more thing.

Somewhere along the road we convinced ourselves that resting meant we were falling behind.


The Comparison Trap

And then there’s another weight we carry.

Comparison.

Watching other women who seem to have it all together.

The spotless houses.
The homemade bread.
The perfect dinners.
The routines.

Meanwhile I’m over here trying to remember if I switched the laundry yesterday or three days ago.

Farm life doesn’t always leave room for Pinterest-level living.

Some days survival is the win.
And yet we still quietly ask ourselves:
Why can’t I keep up with all of it?


What God Actually Asked of Us

Scripture says that a woman was created to be a helpmate to her husband.

Genesis 2:18
“The Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.’”

But helper doesn’t mean carry everything.
Helper doesn’t mean do it all.

Helper doesn’t mean run yourself into exhaustion trying to prove something.
God didn’t design women to be machines.

He designed us to walk alongside, not carry the whole load.



Letting Go of the Pressure

The truth I’m slowly learning is this:

Just because I can do something…
doesn’t mean I have to do everything.

Strength isn’t doing it all.
Sometimes strength looks like resting.
Sometimes strength looks like asking for help.
Sometimes strength looks like letting the dishes sit in the sink while you sit down and breathe.

And maybe…
just maybe… letting God handle the hard stuff is easier than trying to tackle everything ourselves.

A Prayer for the Overwhelmed Woman

Lord,

You see the women carrying heavy loads today.
The mothers, wives, farmers, caregivers, and workers who feel like they have to hold everything together.Remind us that we were never meant to carry it all alone.

Help us release the pressure we put on ourselves.
Teach us that rest is not weakness.
Give us wisdom to find balance and grace in the middle of busy seasons.

And when the weight feels too heavy, remind us that You are always strong enough to carry what we cannot.

Amen.