My Inspiration Story

It all began with one word – “astonished.” I was in first grade, and my parents lavishly praised me when I said it during dinner one night, exclaiming, “Wow, that’s such a big word for a first grader!”

I ate it up – both the dinner and the praise. I was hooked.

From that point on, I pursued continued approval by pushing myself to achieve more and more. The self-induced pressure lead to chronic stress, tear-filled nights, meltdowns, and breakdowns, starting when I was in middle school and continuing into adulthood.

My awakening came when my son was a newborn.

After another unsuccessful attempt at nursing, he polished off his bottle of pumped milk. In a rage, I flung the empty bottle across the room - it represented failure I felt towards myself. I was defeated…and unhinged.

Not my finest moment.

This wasn’t the mother I wanted to be – overly stressed by my drive to achieve. Who had I become?

With tear-filled eyes, I knew, in order to be the patient, calm, and present person I wanted to be for my son, I had to quiet that persistent hyper-achiever that drove my inner dialog. That was the only way I’d be free from its grip, and be able to live a more peaceful, happy, and fulfilling life.

Over time, I strengthened my ability to quiet the hyper-achiever in me, and set boundaries to further that. The more I did so, the more liberated I felt, and most importantly, the more I became the person I wanted to be, for my self and others.

I’m still driven to achieve, but I do so from a place of resonance, calmness, and joy, rather than fear of not achieving enough.

As a result, what I do is even more meaningful, and I am much happier and calmer, mentally and emotionally.

This is why I’ve dedicated myself to helping people who, like me, are high-achieving in pursuit of excellence, yet get in trouble when they compromise who they are in order to hit their usual high marks for accomplishment.