Career & Motherhood: Overthinking Every Choice

Career and motherhood both matter—so why does it still feel impossible to know if you're doing it "right"? This is a conversation about navigating the messy middle of decision making when you're carrying ambition, guilt, and the anxiety of major life changes. About the gap between the working mom you want to be and the one you fear you're becoming—that space of transition anxiety where every choice feels loaded. For anyone overthinking every decision while managing work, kids, and the mental load. Nikki P sits down with Heather Neisen for an honest, funny, and deeply relatable conversation about the working-mom tug-of-war: traveling for work, daycare judgments, identity shifts, and the quiet fear that motherhood will be seen as a "limiter" in professional spaces. Heather shares how growing up in a more traditional, patriarchal church culture shaped her beliefs about roles and sacrifice—and what changed as she built a family system outside the default script. You'll hear practical reframes around self-compassion, values-based choices, and the role of community—including the idea that daycare is support, not failure. If you're navigating burnout, people-pleasing, or constant second-guessing, this conversation gives language for holding the tension and making choices from clarity, not shame. In this episode: - Decision making without guilt or overthinking every option - Identity shifts in motherhood and career - Boundaries around mental load and expectations - Self-compassion when you feel like you're failing - Navigating burnout without abandoning your ambition - Emotional regulation tools when anxiety about judgment kicks in - Mixed emotions: love and resentment, ambition and exhaustion Get Connected & Support the Show: - Listen to the companion podcast: It's Both- Guided Meditations for Anxiety, Emotional Regulation, & Real Life Transitions - Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts - Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation - Sign up for Hungryroot and get $50 off your first box - It's Both on Instagram & Youtube