Freedom, Redefined: How Ambitious Women Can Find More Ease
I grew up in the golden age of reality TV and “Girl Boss” media. Think Keeping Up with the Kardashians, The Hills, Sex and the City—shows filled with ambitious women who had it all: designer clothes, stock units, long-term relationships, fast-paced jobs in New York or Silicon Valley. It gave me a clear (and kind of air quote) picture of success: climb the corporate ladder, find the right person, and work hard enough to eventually feel free.
But here’s the thing—I followed that formula, and I still burned out.
Even though I was doing meaningful work, I felt like I was constantly in the day-to-day grind. I had reached so many goals, and everything looked like success on paper. But I didn’t feel grounded in my own timeline, my own version of freedom. In this blog, I share the steps I took to finally feel more freedom in my life. Hopefully, this can provide some actionable steps on how you can feel the same and welcome more ease back into your life.
What Does Freedom Really Look Like?
As we approach July 4th, it’s easy to talk about freedom in patriotic terms. But real-world freedom is more complex than that. It's subjective. It looks different for different people. And depending on your identity, your upbringing, and your responsibilities, freedom can feel like a distant thing—even if you're doing everything “right.”
Two things can be true: You can have resources, support, and financial independence, and still feel trapped. You can be a high-achieving woman and still wonder, Is this it?
During my burnout, I had all the markers of success—career milestones, savings in my Roth account, and years of hard work behind me. But emotionally, I felt depleted. That’s when I realized: freedom isn’t about reaching a milestone. It’s about how you feel moving through your day.
1. Define What Freedom Means to You
“You’re allowed to create your own definition.”
We’re not all working toward the same thing, and that’s a good thing. For some women, freedom means a career change. For others, it’s building wealth, taking career breaks, or staying home with young children. There’s no single thing that defines it.
Ask yourself:
What do I want to feel more of in my personal life?
What would I do with an extra hour in my day?
How would I move if I weren’t chasing external approval?
What's holding me back from doing these things or living the life I crave?
Over the course of years, I’ve redefined freedom multiple times. Today, it means I have mental clarity, flexibility, and emotional intelligence to manage life without chronic stress or overwhelm. If you’re ready to explore your own version, subscribe to my newsletter for tools and journal prompts similar to the ones I share above.
2. Reclaim Time Freedom
“Your to-do list doesn’t have to own you.”
In the good ol' U.S. of A, we are taught to equate success with being busy and having a certain amount of money in the bank. But for ambitious women, that mindset becomes exhausting fast. There's so much pressure to do more, faster—especially in corporate America.
Try these small steps:
Time-block your day around your energy levels. This begins by tracking your feelings throughout the day. Noticing which tasks motivate you, boost your energy, and drain you will help you realistically assess when you can accomplish them. If a task requires deep focus or a lot of energy, schedule it for the start of your day, before other tasks drain your energy. Everything else that's a quick win and can be done during your natural lulls or after lunch can happen.
Embrace the “done is better than perfect” mindset. I know we care about the quality of what we're producing, and you should definitely maintain that as a value, but don't let perfectionism get in the way. Perfectionism is why you often don't feel accomplished. It's okay to submit an initial draft, or I can share my "quick thoughts" first before refining. You'd be surprised how many people view this as a final version and how all those details that'd make it oh so perfect weren't necessary.
Build space for personal growth, not just professional wins. Your personal growth is just as ( if not more) important as those professional wins. Prioritizing and viewing everything through the lens of am I growing from this will instantly make you feel more free because it frames everything as your choice rather than something for someone else.
3. Reclaim Mental Freedom
“Your brain is not a storage unit.”
A cluttered mind is the enemy of freedom. Between career goals, everyday decisions, and everything happening on social media and in the news, it’s easy to feel like your brain has no room left.
Tangible tools that help:
A weekly brain dump or “mental unload” practice. I recommend adding this to your nightly routine so you can clear your head before bed and have more enjoyable dreams, rather than experiencing stress dreams. In the morning, you have a to-do list that you can start to act on.
A takeback basket to reduce visual clutter. This is one small practice that can curate all the misfit items into one place for the time being, and then you can designate homes later. The alternative is seeing these items scattered across services and adding them to your mental to-do list to figure out what to do with each item. A table that decides when you can really dedicate the time to it.
Rituals that honor your nervous system. My favorites include meditation, gratitude practices, journaling, and listening to calming sounds.
Physical clutter can create mental clutter, especially for ambitious women who balance both business and personal responsibilities. That’s why I offer home organization services to help female entrepreneurs and high-achieving women clear their space, so they can clear their minds.
4. Reclaim Emotional & Energetic Freedom
“Freedom is also not needing to justify your rest.”
There’s a kind of frugality we’re taught emotionally—that rest has to be earned. But it doesn’t. There’s much shame in taking breaks, especially if your life looks good on paper. But the truth is, you can feel stuck even when things are technically “fine.”
Emotional freedom looks like:
Saying no to things that don't align with your core values. Saying no is a complete sentence. You don't have to explain or justify it. Just say no if what's being asked of you is out of alignment with your values. And if you're not sure what your core values are or what's in alignment with them, take the time to reflect on that.
Letting go of the need to over-deliver at every turn. Doing the bare minimum is enough. You don't have to go above and beyond every time. A little bit can do wonders for most things on your plate, and save the more elaborate features for something that matters to you.
Being kind to yourself, not just others. Speaking positively about yourself and your abilities because your brain is on a one-track mission to prove your thoughts right. The more you think positively, the more a positive life will appear.
You can have ambition and still crave ease. And you can take care of other people without losing sight of what energizes you.
You Don’t Have to Earn Your Freedom
The biggest mindset block I had to break was the belief that freedom was something I had to “earn” through hard work. But over time—and with a lot of emotional unpacking—I realized freedom isn’t a distant goal. It’s a practice.
You must choose your freedom every day and with every opportunity. Each time you relinquish it to someone or something else, the more trapped you'll feel. The world will move on with or without you, so it's more important to make sure you want to move on with you.
Your freedom might look different from someone else’s. That’s not only okay—it’s essential.
Whether you’re exploring a new career path, managing real-world challenges, or just trying to live more in the present moment, you deserve more than survival mode.
Ready to Redefine Your Own Version of Freedom?
If this post resonated with you, here’s how we can work together.
Freedom isn’t just for someday.
Let’s make it something you feel every day.
