Not a Perfect Plan, but a Powerful Direction

"I don’t want to be in a transient state anymore."

That’s how she began our work together. A brilliant Scientist Mother, carrying the weight of immense possibility and equally immense responsibility. She knew exactly what she wanted — and she brought me on as her coach to hold her accountable to her own dreams, her own priorities, her way of doing this scientist mother thing.

Because for so many early- to mid-career Scientist Mothers, life feels like it’s exploding in both directions at once: opportunity and abundance on one side, responsibilities and expectations on the other. Your career is taking off, your home life is full to bursting — and somewhere in the middle, you have to decide not only what you want, but how to make it happen.

She didn’t come to me for a perfect plan. She came for a companion in the messiness — someone to help her sit with the fear and uncertainty, to affirm her when things fell apart, to remind her of the bigger picture she was working toward.

Early on, we explored radical acceptance. At first, it felt awkward, almost impossible. But she kept trying it on. Over time, it softened, became her own. The fear loosened. Her power began to shine through.

In our most recent session, she told me two stories about bold, exciting roles she’d stepped into. On the surface, they seemed unrelated. But the thread was unmistakable: she is stepping fully into her skills, her power, her vision.

Her self-assigned homework? 𝘛𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 about the scary-but-thrilling things she’s building — and to let herself stand in that joy without feeling the need to earn it.

Because this isn’t the end of her story. It’s the moment she realizes she’s the one writing it.