You've finally made it.
And you've never felt less sure of yourself.
A few years ago, getting here felt like winning. The promotion. The bigger paycheck. The seat at the table. Proof that all the hard work had paid off.
Then you became a mom.
You expected the transition back to work to be hard. What you didn't expect was that months later, you'd still feel like you were playing catch-up.
There's always something waiting. A Slack message. A pediatrician appointment. A team member who needs feedback.
No matter where you are, part of your brain is somewhere else. And no matter how hard you work, you can't seem to get back to feeling like yourself.
The hardest part is that nobody seems to understand. At work, nobody sees what's waiting at home. At home, nobody understands the pressure you carry at work.
You keep telling yourself it's just a season. But the questions keep getting harder to ignore.
Do I still have what it takes? Can I actually sustain this? Am I still ambitious?
The opportunities you've spent years working toward are finally within reach. Bigger roles. More influence. And yet you've never felt less certain you have the capacity to take them on.
