The 2026 Mindset Shift for Women Building Their Own Path (and Business)

Mar 24

There used to be a time I believed success was a series of checklists.

Hit XX in monthly sales
Post on Instagram 2x/ day
Pin 10 times a month on Pinterest
Publish 3 blogs
Sell 4 new Embark templates
Repeat

I was seriously convinced that the only way I could call myself successful was if I was living inside those lists. It didn't matter if it was parenthood, balance, or business. Success was defined by concrete objectives and crossing finish lines that left us all teetering dangerously close to burn out. But who were they really created by? And what would happen if I didn’t hit them? If I only sold 3 new Embark templates instead of 4, was I a failure? And speaking of which, what is the definition of failure?

It’s probably obvious to you that this line of questioning led to a lot of spiraling. I had hustled for so long, all while being a mother of 2, preparing for a local pottery show, and leading a team of equally (if not even more) ambitious and creative women. So I owed it to them, my daughters, and myself to get very clear.

What is success?

What does it feel like?

What does it look like? Not on her and not on him, but on me?

The Stories We Inherited

If I wanted to be successful, I knew I had to define the word for myself and leave behind all the connotations that I had picked up along the way. So, yes, I went back to my handy-dandy list making.

Success in Capitalism, looks like:

hustle culture
"rise and grind"
earning more
spending more
accumulating more

It's the lie that your worth is directly tied to your output. (Have you ever heard the story of the Mexican Fisherman? If not, it’s worth the quick read. It will rearrange something in you.)

Success in the Patriarchy, looks like:

the "Girl Boss"
women adopting masculine traits in a masculine system and calling it “feminism”
Assertive, logical, non-emotional
—or — quiet, small, never too much, not taking up space

Success in Motherhood, looks like:

never losing my temper
feeding the kids organic whole foods
breastfeeding on demand
co-sleeping peacefully
remaining calm, cool, regulated, and fun at all times

Success in Womanhood, looks like:

thin and toned
quiet and agreeable
hairless and glowing
hair dyed and roots always touched up
is it too soon to mention the plucked perimenopause chin hair?

I wish I could tell you that none of these felt real to me. But at least here in America, these definitions are baked into us. So if you're a creative, woman-identifying, mother, or entrepreneur like me, these expectations have been laced into the air we breathe. They are part of the lie of the American Dream and the mythology of “success.”

So I'll go ahead and say it out loud: none of this actually matters.

At my funeral, no one is going to stand up and talk about how hard I hustled, or how efficiently I managed my content calendar, or whether I hit my Q3 revenue goal. They are going to talk about how I made people feel, how I showed up, and how much I loved.

But instead, we’ve been taught and told tasks need to drive our lives, instead of our lives driving our chosen tasks. And yes, I would like to go on a rant about how it’s to the government and oligarchs' benefit for us to believe these falsehoods to keep us complicit through convenience and comfort, but maybe I’ll save that for a rainy day.

Today, I’ll tell you those versions of success may belong to someone else, but I refuse to let them be mine. Especially when it comes to this business, the thing I fuel every single day to build with passion and energy (and several cups of coffee).

So What Does Success Look Like Now?

For me, it's quieter than I expected. And a lot more honest.

I find success the moment I notice I'm holding my breath and my shoulders creeping up toward my ears, instead of pushing through. Success, now, is giving myself permission to step away.

It's working with clients who share my values. It's knowing that work is only one part of life, not the whole of it. It's living, breathing, moving, and building in alignment with what actually matters to me, and using those values as a compass for every decision, in business and beyond.

That shift didn't happen overnight. It required me to stop performing productivity and start practicing intention. And it starts with knowing what values I want to steer my life.

Your Turn: The Values Exercise

Here's something I want you to try. Close the tabs. Put the phone face down.

Imagine an alien flew over your house today and took a snapshot of your life. Based on where your time, energy, and focus actually go (not where you wish they went) what would they assume matters most to you?

Sit with that for a moment.

Is that what you want? What you hoped for? Is their snapshot accurate of your goals and values?

Identifying Your Values

Now, look at the list of values below. Take your time with it. Then,

Highlight the 10 to 14 words that feel most true to who you are (or who you're working to become).

2. Then, group the ones with similar energy together in 4 or 5 similar categories.

3. From each group, choose the single quality that feels most essential. The one that, if you lost it, the whole group would collapse.

What you're left with are your core values, your compass.

Reseting your mindset to align with your values is the ultimate form of success.

The thing that progress, acceptance, and celebration, in 2026 and beyond, actually gets to be built on.

Not someone else's checklist. Not the patriarchy's playbook. Not the algorithm's demands.

Yours.

What next?

The world is shifting. We can see through the systems’ failures and shortcomings and the old metrics are falling apart. And honestly? Good riddance!

This moment of change, collapse, and creation is an invitation, not just a crisis. Choose to use this invitation to build something that actually reflects who you are, what you believe, and the kind of life and business you want to be remembered for.

That's the mindset shift. And it starts with you, for you.