Claim OwnershipBalance & Beyond
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© 2026 Balance & Beyond
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Balance and Beyond is the podcast for ambitious women refusing to accept burnout as the price of success. Here, we’re committed to empowering you with the tools and strategies you need to achieve true balance, where your career, relationships and health all thrive and where you have the power to define success on your own terms.
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Four weeks to calm, focus, and clarity: Register for Leverage today (starts Friday 6th February!) When control stops working, what actually builds credibility? We open the door to a different kind of authority: the capacity to stay present, honest, and steady when the ground is moving. Instead of chasing the illusion of certainty, we show how vulnerability becomes a practical leadership skill that strengthens trust, speeds learning, and sets a clear path through chaos. We unpack the old mod...
Ever wonder why a tiny choice—how you part your hair, whether you eat a donut—can spark a wave of judgement in your head? We pull back the curtain on the quiet scripts that turn neutral moments into moral verdicts and show how those stories hardwire your nervous system, shape your identity, and dictate whether rest feels safe or forbidden. From the myth of “I’ll rest when things calm down” to the efficiency trap of “it’s quicker if I do it myself,” we unpack four powerful narratives many wome...
Before you blink and 2026 is already underway, join our January 23rd workshop to uncover the unconscious rules shaping your work and redesign how you lead, respond, and create space in your career: www.balanceinstitute.com/rules What if the smartest move for 2026 isn’t more control, but more responsiveness? After stepping out of routine during a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, we saw how thousands of scooters glide through “organised chaos” without aggression. No one clings to a rig...
We challenge the myth that life will settle and explore how to build steadiness, set boundaries, and choose yourself even when everything stays messy. Practical tools help your nervous system stand down so you can find focus and joy in small, real patches of time. • the illusion of the clear runway • how constant bracing exhausts your nervous system • boundaries around time, emotion and care • practical micro-rest and micro-focus anchors • acceptance as a path to faster adaptation • choosing...
A small shift can change the whole day. We explore how novelty inside structure calms the nervous system, restores agency, and brings back breath without blowing up a perfectly good life. • triangle sushi as a metaphor for context and experience • the squeeze of routines as school and work resume • why structure is not the enemy, sameness is • environmental micro changes that reset your nervous system • practical ideas to reclaim agency within constraints • designing novelty to avoid subcons...
We explore how desire shrinks under self-editing and why holding a want without making it about worth can change the shape of a life. A public love story becomes a mirror for our conditioning and a prompt to name a bigger want and take one clean step. • the difference between wanting and pre-rejecting • how cultural conditioning teaches women to self-edit • the four-part sequence: want, name, act, detach • why nervous system capacity matters more than hype • practical micro-steps to build to...
Before you blink and 2026 is already underway, join our January 23rd workshop to uncover the unconscious rules shaping your work and redesign how you lead, respond, and create space in your career: www.balanceinstitute.com/rules We explore how speed becomes a nervous system rule that feels like safety, why AI amplifies it, and what it costs when pace outruns capacity. We share practical ways to upgrade the rule so you keep your edge without burning out or abandoning yourself. • speed a...
We share a simple, identity-first practice to end the year with clarity and begin 2026 on purpose. Two questions help you release what no longer fits and choose the version of yourself that your habits and calendar will support. • shifting from self-judgement to curiosity and compassion • leaving behind old labels, guilt and unhelpful stories • choosing identity before goals and outcomes • translating beliefs into small, aligned behaviours • creating space to reflect and feel the truth • red...
We map the three-phase evolution beyond burnout—unravelling, reawakening, emergence—and share the questions that move you from survival to self-trust. December becomes a checkpoint to trade adrenaline for calm conviction and design a life that fits. • why burnout is initiation, not failure • phase one: unravelling and the clarity beneath collapse • the escape fantasy vs nervous system truth • phase two: reawakening and rebuilding self-trust • following curiosity into new practices and commun...
We challenge the “I can do it myself” script and show how fierce independence can cap career growth, fuel burnout, and create loneliness. We offer a path to bigger impact by asking for help, delegating earlier, and letting yourself be seen. • the hidden costs of doing it all yourself • how not asking for help stalls delegation and growth • why armour and perfectionism block real connection • the island metaphor for scale and support • working in your zone of genius with help • how human trib...
Fear is the common thread behind perfectionism, procrastination, stress and overwhelm. We explore how this powerful emotion, designed to keep us alive, has evolved to hold us back from what we truly want in modern life. • Only two fears are innate (loud noises and falling from heights) - all others are conditioned • Perfectionism stems from fear of making mistakes and ultimately fear of rejection • Procrastination is actually a protective mechanism to avoid the fear of getting it wrong • Str...
Your body speaks in whispers, shouts, and sometimes punches to the face when you ignore its needs. Women are particularly susceptible to burnout due to perfectionism, people-pleasing, and putting everyone else first. • The whispers of burnout include trouble sleeping, brain fog, headaches, and constant tension • Shouts escalate to anxiety, adrenaline surges, digestive problems, and emotional fragility • Punches in the face are serious health crises like cancer, autoimmune conditions, or comp...
There's power in holding two perspectives simultaneously rather than falling into black and white thinking that dominates much of self-help literature. We can embrace both the gap (what we still want) and the gain (how far we've come), allowing us to celebrate progress while still pursuing growth. • The gap is the space between where we are now and where we want to be • Living only in the gap creates feelings of "not enough" and triggers unhealthy striving • Many high achievers believe focus...
We explore the crucial difference between change driven by fear versus change pulled by desire, and why many women struggle to connect with what they truly want. This mindset shift is essential for breaking free from burnout and creating a life of joy and fulfillment rather than mere survival. • Running from fear (the modern "lions" of bosses, inboxes, and perfectionism) creates unsustainable change and leads to burnout • Sustainable change happens when we're pulled toward our desires, not p...
If you’ve ever been told you’re “too much,” this conversation hands you the mic back. We trace the quiet conditioning that teaches high achievers to shrink—dial down ambition, soften edges, and convert natural ease into proof of effort. That script morphs into “because I could, I should,” a mantra that hijacks strengths and turns them into obligations. The result? Endless hustle, moving goalposts, and wins that feel strangely hollow. We open up about the years spent overfunctioning—carrying ...
We're navigating a once-in-a-generation shift as women balancing careers and motherhood. Understanding our place in history helps us recognize we're not alone in wanting both professional success and present parenting. • Within just one generation, women have moved from needing male cosigners for bank accounts to comprising half the workforce • Until the 1960s, it was legal to refuse employment to women solely because of their gender • Most families today require two incomes, yet our subcons...
As AI capabilities rapidly advance, women who've built their identities on being the smartest and most dependable in the room are facing a confidence crisis as these traits are being replaced by technology that doesn't tire or have family obligations. • Many women are responding by working even harder and trying to "outgrit the algorithm" • Learning about AI is valuable, but using it just to get more done accelerates burnout • This technological shift is threatening not just roles but identi...
People pleasing behaviours develop in childhood and become deeply ingrained by age eight, creating a pattern where we believe we must earn love through meeting others' needs. This psychological conditioning leads to resentment, career limitations, and an inability to set boundaries that ultimately holds us back from becoming true leaders and women of influence. • People pleasers have a strong need to be liked, are often high achievers, perfectionists, and struggle to say no • The pattern beg...
We often hide parts of ourselves that we've been told are "too much," but reclaiming these disowned aspects is key to wholeness and freedom. I share my personal journey of hiding my intelligence because it made others uncomfortable, creating compensatory behaviours and identity fragmentation. • Intelligence became something I downplayed despite teaching myself to read and finding school came easily • Developed hypervigilance about how my achievements might make others feel • Created unhealth...
The journey from proud perfectionist to recovering perfectionist is crucial for career advancement and personal wellbeing. Perfectionism acts as a ceiling that limits growth, creativity, and influence when left unchecked. • Perfectionism often stems from early career mistakes that damage confidence • Common signs include excessive time spent on details, procrastination, and fear of making decisions without complete information • Perfectionism and procrastination always come together, both dr...
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