They were discussing upcoming class officer elections. Both of them were running for class president.

The discussion turned to the "downside" of being president - the tough parts. My daughter commented that the difficult part would be doing the prom, the major social event during junior year.

"No problem," the young man piped up. "I'd just appoint a committee."

Why didn't my daughter think of that? Why did she roll her eyes at the thought of the time and energy involved in "doing the prom?" I wonder if she saw herself hanging all of the crepe paper alone, or personally booking the entertainment and arranging the meal. I wonder if she felt she'd be solely accountable for the success or failure of the event.

What is it that causes so many women to feel as though we have to personally handle things for them to be successful? Why do we turn ourselves into martyrs to our workloads? Is this one of those Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus things? Or do we believe that we need to perform twice as well as men to be successful?

I don't have any concrete answers, but I know that I've suffered from the same malady as my daughter (did I teach her that behavior?). I'm just now, at mid-life, coming to grips with asking for help, and ditching the attitude that I can and should do all of this work myself. In other words, the Wonder Woman is bone tired.

What matters in the end is excellent results, and achieving that often means bringing more people into the plan, both at work and at home.

To live successful, balanced lives, we must make a habit of asking "Who could help me with part of this?" or "Who would be great at this?" rather than "If I don't do it, it won't get done - or done well."

None of us is as smart, or as efficient, as all of us. Ask for help. Others are competent and willing.