Blog Post 20: I should be grateful and not want more…

My client, an amazing senior manager at a large company, looked at me ashamedly and said “I have a great life. A lovely spouse, amazing kids, a job that pays well, a career that I’ve worked hard to get, but I am just not happy. Something isn’t right.”

I looked at her and asked, “if you did know what was wrong, what would you say?”

I had a hunch.

You see, many of the clients I work with struggle with similar things. I’ve noticed patterns. 

Patterns of the type of Mums that come see me, and patterns in their thoughts and feelings that become the reason why they need a coach to help them through this phase in their lives.

My clients are amazing, high-achieving career oriented women. Then they have kids. And then they realise that their career either doesn’t fulfil them or isn’t sustainable whilst being a present Mum to their kids.

Interestingly, it is often the former - the fulfilment piece, that is the main problem.

So many people in the world think that all Mums want when they return to work is flexibility.

Sure, flexibility is important, but what’s more important to the Mums I see is fulfilment.

They want to feel fulfilled in their work and career. They want to do work that ‘helps others’, that they believe is meaningfully contributing to better our world.

This is a beautiful thing.

But often, my client’s criticise themselves for ‘wanting more’. They first tell me why they are feeling so unhappy and unsatisfied, and then they talk themselves out of it by saying “I have flexibility in my role though. I’m paid pretty well. And I worked so hard for this career.”

Here’s the thing - you can be content with your life AND still be hungry for more. 

These two things are completely aligned, especially for high-achieving career oriented Mums.

Our drive and ambition doesn’t just ‘switch off’ after having kids.

In my opinion, our drive and ambition actually increase, because it forces us to reevaluate our career and its impact through the lens of being a parent, who has just brought a child into this world. 

Suddenly, it’s not about ‘just me’ anymore. It’s about making this world a better place.

Doing something that our children would be proud of us for doing.

Doing something that we would be proud to tell our kids we are doing.

So I’m here to tell you this - you can be proud of yourself for what you’ve accomplished AND KNOW that you’re meant for so much more.

The next step after you accept this paradox is to take stock of what you’ve accomplished, what you’ve loved doing, what’s important to you, and then go out there and discover what’s possible for you.

And how do you know what's possible for you? 

YOU get to decide.

I help my clients tap into what’s possible for themselves, and then go out there and create it in the world.

So, for all my high-achieving amazing Mamas out there, repeat after me: 

“I can be content with my life AND still hungry for more”

“I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished AND I’m meant for so much more”

If you’re ready to discover what really is possible for you, book in a free Consult Call and let’s discover it already! There is no time like the present 🙂

Love Loren x