Every week, I’m reminded of what a growth mindset is, and what it most certainly isn’t. One of the most gratifying parts of my work is seeing people turn what they’ve learned through adversity into something useful for others, and bring that into their leadership. There is nothing better than seeing someone confidently own their …
When Resilience Becomes an Expectation for Everyone Else Read More »
If I were to dress up as something scary for Halloween, it would probably be one of those windowed letters addressed to me by the Luxembourg tax authorities. Not because I object to paying my dues. Quite the opposite. I’m annoyingly conscientious and law-abiding. But these letters reliably send me into fight, flight or freeze …
When Your Brain Turns an Ordinary Letter into a Crisis Read More »
Apparently, it is difficult to make friends in midlife. I beg to disagree. But it does require some skills, mindsets and behaviours that many of us were never encouraged to develop. This past year has been one of those classic, challenging sandwich years for me. The kind where work, family and other responsibilities compete for …
Making Friends in Midlife: The Courage to Go First Read More »
At least, that’s what a personality test told me when I was preparing to start my business. These days, I’m often invited to speak about leadership, mental health, women’s brain health and changing working lives. But last week, for the first time, I was invited to talk about how I ended up working with these …
Apparently, I Didn’t Have the Profile to Be an Entrepreneur Read More »
These last few weeks, since returning from vacation, I have been exploring that “back to work” sentiment with several of my clients. Often, it is a mixed feeling. A break gives us enough distance to notice what we have been normalising. We may start to recognise the habits, expectations and ways of working that were …
If you are a successful midlife professional on the outside, but are beginning to recognise strong neurodivergent traits in yourself, what might a diagnosis offer? Long story short: it depends. There is no single answer to whether pursuing an ADHD or autism assessment is the right choice. It can depend on the severity and impact …
What might an ADHD or autism diagnosis offer in midlife? Read More »
It is September. A new season, a brilliant new cup, and a new focus: thesis preparation time. This autumn, I’ll be diving deeper into the neuroscience and neurobiology of midlife women’s mental health. It feels increasingly relevant to my work, given that around half of my clients are professional women, and deeply personal too. I …
What did you love doing before life got busy? And what might happen if you reconnected with a part of that person? Welcome to 1999. The young, deadly serious teenager striking a pose with a recorder held high, sporting a homemade attempted Rachel-from-Friends hairdo and preparing for a concert, is me. The concert in question …
In my native Finland, Valentine’s Day is officially Friendship Day. A beautiful idea. Yet research suggests many of us feel lonelier than ever, particularly in midlife. I hear this often in my client conversations, perhaps slightly more from midlife men who admit that their social world has narrowed. It is not surprising. Midlife can be …
Is it really that hard to make friends in midlife? And why should we try? Read More »
Watching the Winter Olympics this week reminded me that I used to be a figure skater. Yes, really. Not a particularly good or serious one. But between the ages of six and fourteen, it was something I approached with genuine passion. When I later moved to the UK, that chapter closed. My more nerdy pursuit …
Flow, Figure Skating, and Finding Your Element in Midlife Read More »
