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You’re good at what you do. But do the right people know it? This came up in a coaching conversation recently. We were talking about visibility at work and the discomfort so many women feel when it comes to talking about their achievements. “I don’t want to sound like...
Every week on 89.9 The Light, I answer questions from mothers navigating the realities of modern motherhood. These conversations aren't about having all the answers. They're about making sense of experiences that so many women carry, often believing they're the only...
Every week on 89.9 The Light, I answer questions from mothers and talk about navigating the realities of modern motherhood. No two families are the same, so these conversations aren't about giving one right answer. They're about helping women better understand what's...
Why you don’t feel like yourself anymore Many mothers arrive at a point when they realise they don't quite recognise themselves anymore. It's often difficult to explain. From the outside, life might look exactly as they imagined it would. They love their children....
One day I noticed how many thoughts in my head started with “I have to…”. I have to reply to that message. I have to organise school forms. I have to keep on top of work. I have to exercise. I have to clean the kitchen. I have to be patient. I have to remember that...
"Baby brain.” “Mum brain.” We’ve all heard these terms and possibly used them after forgetting an appointment, walking into a room and wondering why we are there, or putting the milk in the pantry instead of the fridge. For years, the idea that motherhood makes women...
When I was little, I was known as “the good girl.” Quiet, easy and well behaved. I hardly spoke in class because I was painfully shy (sometimes I even felt tears welling up if the teacher said my name for something good!). I worried about getting things wrong,...
Returning to work after kids isn’t just a logistics problem. It’s an identity shift. You go back to work. On paper, everything looks fine. But underneath that, it feels harder than it should. You’re more tired than you thought you’d be. Things that used to feel simple...
You know those moments where someone puts words to something you’ve felt… but never quite known how to explain? That was this conversation. If you’ve never heard the term matrescence before, I share more about it here. I was invited onto radio station 8.99 The Light,...
You’re functioning. You’re competent. You might even be succeeding by the measures that matter to your organisation. And yet there’s a low-level tension running underneath it all. You find yourself scanning job ads late at night....
You might recognise this particular kind of fatigue. The kind that comes from being capable for so long. From being the one people rely on. From holding things together quietly, competently, without complaint. Until one day, you notice the question forming underneath...
Let's talk about that moment. You know the one. It's 6pm. You've been "on" since 5:47am. You've made breakfast while packing lunches, while answering emails. You've navigated a work crisis, mediated sibling warfare, and remembered (barely) that it's library day....
If you’re feeling stuck in a decision right now, you’re not alone. And you’re not failing. I see this pattern constantly with the women I work with. Smart, capable, thoughtful women who can make complex decisions at work… yet feel completely paralysed when it comes to...
If you're reading this as a working mother with flexible working arrangements, chances are you've felt that familiar knot in your stomach. The one that tightens when you need to leave for school pickup, when you decline the 4pm meeting, or when you catch a colleague's...
Have you ever sat in a meeting, listening to your colleagues speak, and thought, I don’t really belong here? Do you ever downplay your achievements, second-guess your abilities, or fear that one day, everyone will realise you’re not as capable as they think? If so,...
Life can be challenging, and those challenges often feel relentless. Juggling paid work, domestic duties, mothering, other responsibilities, our wellbeing and personal aspirations is tough. We’re constantly offered well-meaning advice to "look on the bright side" or...
Many women experience a loss of confidence in motherhood. Psychology Dictionary Online defines self-confidence as an individual’s trust in his or her own abilities, capacities, and judgments, or belief that he or she can successfully face day-to-day challenges and...
Just as I find myself settling into the rhythm of school term, feeling more at ease with managing my paid work, the school run and other activities, other parents start talking about the next school holidays! They really do come around so quickly! School holidays are...
Worry is a chain of negative thoughts about bad things that might happen in the future (Brene Brown, "Altas of the Heart"). It is a coping strategy we tend to employ when we feel anxious because we think (perhaps subconsciously) that it is helpful. Worrying feels...
The beliefs we hold form the lens through which we view and interpret the world around us and all our experiences. They help us make sense of situations and inform our decisions and actions. This happens both consciously and subconsciously. Some of our beliefs support...
In this article, we hear from Rachel Preston Broughton, who has two beautiful children and generously shares with us her reflections on motherhood so far. Enjoy reading about the things Rachel wishes she had known back when she first became a mother. As a mum...
Perfection is so alluring. We love our children so deeply that it makes sense that we would want to give them the best start to life and the best opportunity to flourish through being the perfect mum. We are parenting in a society that places excessive pressure on...
Be positive! Look on the bright side! Good vibes only! Do you feel like you should be happy all the time? Happiness is celebrated and heavily promoted in our society (just think about all the happy people you see in marketing campaigns). We adopt it as a goal to work...
Our brains are constantly on the lookout for things that might harm us and in doing so, they create a lot of difficult thoughts. These thoughts might relate to pain from the past, challenges we are facing in the present or fear about the future. Positive thinking is...
Overfunctioning can be simpler to understand than to spot in our lives because people who overfunction tend to be seen as very responsible, reliable, helpful, competent and caring. They do all the things for all the people. Society celebrates people who are constantly...
Do you wish you had more balance in your life? Have you been trying to get there but somehow can’t quite get it right? Be kind to yourself, lovely. Balance can feel like an elusive goal. When we look around at other mums on social media and in our lives and they...
Recently, a beautiful woman in the More to Mum community asked me if you could ever give yourself too much self-compassion. She wondered if there was a point where you just had to take accountability for what you’ve done and do better. As I listened to her describe...
We all experience frustration in motherhood. As explained by Brené Brown in her book "Atlas of the Heart", frustration occurs when something that feels out of our control is preventing us from achieving our desired outcome. We don't think that we can fix the...
How often do you stop to question whether the things you think you should do are actually right for you? Maybe you think you should take on more responsibility at work, even though you already feel stretched. Maybe you feel you should attend a family event because...
Have you felt resentment in motherhood? Resentment is one of those emotions that we wish we didn’t have, yet it can feel so justified. It’s not an enjoyable way to feel and most of us don’t want to be perceived as resentful or bitter. Women often feel guilty for...