Welcome back 🤍
Welcome back to the Shamelessly Ambitious Podcast.
We’ve officially closed The Energy Is Everything Series—a series that was rich, deep, and incredibly meaningful. Last week’s bonus episode was a menstrual phase meditation, and over the next several bonus episodes, I’ll be releasing meditations for each phase of the cycle: follicular, ovulatory, and luteal.
But now… we’re back to solo episodes.
And I’ll be honest—switching gears always does something funny to my nervous system. I loved the series format. I loved the conversations. And I wildly missed these solo episodes. So this one felt like a natural re-entry point: a January recap on life, work, and what it actually feels like to be a woman right now.
January came fast—and it came full
How are we already in February?
January felt fast, full, and surprisingly tender. On January 1st, we moved into our new home, and I can honestly say—it feels perfect for our family. I created a small home gym, set up a basement office, and built a space that actually supports the way I live and work now.
What was different this January compared to years past is that I didn’t finish my end-of-year planning.
For years, I’ve had a solid system. December is usually when I close the year and map the next one. This time? I didn’t get to it. And instead of pushing, I honored winter.
I slowed down.
I rested.
I let the season be the season.
And honestly? It felt good.
Winter, sickness, and forced slowing
Like many families, January also brought sickness. All three kids and I got sick at the same time—something that has never happened before.
Being that sick while still being mom was brutal.
And it forced even more slowing. Work paused. Plans paused. Productivity expectations dropped. Between sickness, winter, and life itself, January became less about momentum and more about capacity.
Full, but slow.
Friendship, community, and the quiet grief of imbalance
As we’ve settled into Colorado, community has slowly taken shape. New friends. New connections. And with that has come a realization I’ve been sitting with:
I care deeply about being a good friend.
I remember details.
I check in.
I show up.
And sometimes… I give more than I receive.
This isn’t bitterness. It’s awareness.
I don’t want to give less. That doesn’t feel aligned. But I am questioning reciprocity—what it means, what’s reasonable, and how much I can hold without resentment.
That awareness has also shown up in boundaries. Mid-January, I consciously pulled back from over-volunteering at my kids’ school. Not because I don’t care—but because I was giving past my capacity.
The invisible weight women carry
This is the heart of this episode.
So many conversations lately—clients, friends, colleagues—keep circling the same truth:
Women are holding too much.
We were given access to careers, businesses, leadership, and ambition (which matters deeply), but the expectations at home never actually lifted.
We still:
- manage schedules
- remember everything
- carry emotional labor
- anchor households
- parent, partner, plan, and produce
And then we wonder why we’re tired.
I’ve been having an internal reckoning with the “we can do it all” narrative. There was a version of me that wore that like armor. And now?
Now I’m choosing something else.
Sometimes that looks like stopping work at 1pm.
Sometimes it looks like sitting on the couch instead of pushing.
Sometimes it looks like choosing mood over productivity.
And that shift has changed everything.
Slowing down didn’t shrink my life—it expanded it
One of the most surprising things this season has shown me is that doing less hasn’t made me less available.
It’s made me more present.
More regulated.
More patient.
More grounded.
And yes—better for the people I love.
There are days when I finish my to-do list early and don’t replace it with more. I rest instead. And I don’t apologize for it anymore.
That’s new.
New roles, old dreams resurfacing
This January also brought new leadership opportunities. I stepped into a role as a Mixer Mind pod leader, facilitating peer mentorship for women entrepreneurs.
And something else resurfaced too—an old dream.
Teaching.
I recently had a conversation with someone from CU Denver (where I earned my master’s degree), and I’m now exploring opportunities to contribute to their entrepreneurial program as an adjunct professor or curriculum developer.
Nothing is decided yet—but the excitement is real.
It feels like coming home to a part of myself I never stopped loving.
Life lately: simple joys count
I’ve also let myself enjoy smaller, quieter things without turning them into productivity.
- binge-watching shows instead of forcing books
- making new dinner recipes that surprisingly everyone loved
- espresso martinis (decaf, always decaf) with friends
- planning a Costa Rica trip with a longtime friend
- decorating my home until it feels like mine
This season isn’t flashy.
It’s honest.
Being a woman is heavy—and we don’t talk about it enough
This episode isn’t about solutions.
It’s about naming the weight.
The emotional labor.
The invisible work.
The constant internal negotiation.
The moments where you wonder:
- Did I even do anything today?
- Why does this feel so heavy?
- Why am I so tired?
Nothing is wrong with you.
And one unexpected gift of stepping away from social media has been freedom from comparison. I’m living real life now—messy hair, snow boots, greasy bangs, laughter with friends.
That’s where connection lives.
xx, Ash
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