When my 13-year-old son didn’t make the team he’d worked all season to join, the disappointment hit hard. But what I chose to do next—or not do—changed everything. In this article, I share how I supported him without fixing, and how those same resilience tools apply to the leaders I coach every day. If you’re a parent, a leader, or both, this one’s for you.

Read the full story + practical tools to help your child (or yourself) bounce back from setbacks.

After two decades climbing the corporate ladder in global organizations—leading teams, launching initiatives, and striving to always “do more”—I made a bold move.

I left.

But what I didn’t expect was how much I’d have to unlearn to truly thrive as an entrepreneur.

As a high-performing woman in leadership, I thought I had resilience mastered. I knew how to get things done. I’d built a respected career. I could power through anything.

Until I couldn’t.

It wasn’t until I stepped away that I realized just how many beliefs I had internalized that were quietly exhausting me, holding me back, and shrinking the space I had to actually live.

Here are six beliefs I had to let go of throughout my corporate career, and what I’ve embraced instead.

You don’t need more hours in the day.

You need more capacity in your body, your mind, and your spirit.

I see it every day in my coaching work with high-performing leaders, especially this time of year.

End-of-quarter deadlines. Strategic planning sessions. Back-to-back meetings.

At home? Final school events, vacations to plan, family needs piling up.

It’s the season of too much. And so many leaders are telling themselves:

“If I could just get through this week... if I could just find more time...”

But here’s the truth.

For years, I believed success meant always being available, constantly grinding, and doing more than anyone else.

I thought this because everyone around me was doing the same thing.

When I stepped into the role as Head of Marketing for one of the fastest growing product lines in the industry, responsible for a multi-level organization and a nine-figure revenue target, I felt like I had “made it.” But what came with that success was a complete shift in how I operated. My calendar filled up with everyone else’s needs. My energy was consumed by urgent decisions, back-to-back meetings, and competing priorities. I was constantly reacting.

And I wasn’t alone. I looked at my peers and senior leaders, and their lives looked the same. So I assumed this was just the price of success at the top.

But the truth is, it wasn’t working.

You say you want more ease. More peace. More time. You say you're done with the stress, the overwhelm, the burnout.

And yet…

You keep signing up for more. You take on the extra project. You say yes when you want to say no. You stay up late answering “just one more email.”

You’re exhausted, but you can’t stop.

Why?

Because for many high performers, the struggle has become their identity.