010: Why Women Strive: How to Stop Chasing and Start Choosing

Do you ever reach a milestone and immediately move the goalposts?Do you find yourself thinking: I’ll slow down after this launch, this month, this next thing… only to realise there is always another thing?Do you feel driven and ambitious but secretly wonder why success still feels further away than it should?If that feels familiar, this episode is for you.This week on the Good Girl Rebellion podcast, Anna is joined by psychotherapist, mindful compassion coach and retreat leader Ange Cameron to talk about striving.At first, this conversation looks like it’s about ambition.But it quickly becomes something much bigger.Together, Anna and Ange explore the difference between healthy ambition and proving, why so many women feel pressure to keep achieving without ever arriving, and how messages around productivity, resilience and “having it all” can quietly disconnect us from ourselves.They talk about the difference between building from choice versus building from fear, why women often move from one set of expectations to another and call it freedom, and whether success is supposed to feel this exhausting.This is a conversation about enough.About seasons.About learning to distinguish capability from endless endurance.And about asking whether the life you’re building is actually the one you want.In this episode:• What striving really means and why many women don’t recognise it in themselves• The difference between healthy ambition and proving your worth• Why reaching milestones doesn’t always create fulfilment• The connection between good girl conditioning and achievement• The hidden cost of constantly moving the goalposts• Why rest is not laziness and what happens in the brain when we recharge• Resilience versus capability and learning to honour your capacity• Building businesses and lives in seasons rather than constant output• Internal validation, self-worth and coming back to yourself• What becomes possible when women stop striving to become more and start trusting they already are enoughIf you’ve ever felt exhausted by chasing the next milestone or wondered whether there is another way to succeed without abandoning yourself in the process, this conversation is for you.It’s time.About AngeFor 34 years, Ange Cameron has been helping people navigate life’s challenges with greater courage, self-awareness and compassion.She’s a psychotherapist, mindful compassion coach, sauna master and retreat leader who works with both individuals and organisations across Scotland and leads wild retreats in Scotland and the Azores, Portugal, where coaching, mindfulness, nature and meaningful connection come together.Her work is rooted in a simple belief:We have one life and it’s far too precious to spend disconnected from what matters most.Away from work, she’s happiest in the sea, on a coastal path, in a sauna, or exploring her fascination with nature, marine life and the wonders of the world around us.https://www.direction.org.uk/@directionscotland@saundacultureuk