On the Couch with Bethenny

I've admired Bethenny Frankel since her time on Martha Stewart's Apprentice and The Real Housewives of New York City. Her no-nonsense, quick-wit, and zest for life invigorates and okay, entertains me. In some ways, she's a wildly outspoken version of myself - or, so I'd like to think. So I love the opportunity to sit in on Bethenny's therapy sessions with the insightful Dr. Amador to learn what makes career- and family-driven women like us tick.

In the latest episode of Bethenny Ever After ("Show and Tell", season 3, episode 7), Dr. Amador asked Bethenny why she feels compelled to continue to do more:

Do I entirely know why? I don't know. I'm always one who does the next thing, who does the next step, who likes to tackle challenges and accomplish things. I'm a workaholic... [It comes] from struggling so much, from feeling so hopeless... from anxiety.

Speaking as a Type-A personality myself, we don't know any other way. We can't help striving, overcoming, and accomplishing more. We're never satisfied. We're hard-to-please. That's not only how we view the world but especially how we treat ourselves. There will always be bigger and better to reach for because we'll never attain perfection this side of heaven. Being mediocre would kill me. Life's too short not to try.

I've spent a lot of time on therapists' couches, with and without Bethenny. It's probably best to embrace and manage this inner drive instead of trying to change it. I don't know another direction besides onward, upward, and forward.



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