[277] Tired of Proving Yourself? A Quiet 2026 Plan for Family Focus and Peace

This episode came straight from a real conversation I had with my mom after our early family Christmas—when she asked what was next for me, career-wise. I told her clearly that I don’t want to open my own practice, even if that’s what people expect “the next step” to be. What I want right now looks quiet and honestly a little “boring” on paper: I want to be present with my family, soak up my kids while they’re still here with me, and take care of myself. If you’re heading into 2026 feeling pressure to climb, prove, or impress, I want you to know it’s okay if your dreams are quieter in this season.

3 Takeaways from this episode:

1. You don’t have to chase the “next step” just because it looks like the logical move to other people.
2. A quiet season is still a meaningful season—especially when it centers your family and your wellbeing.
3. The only goals that matter are the ones you feel good about, not the ones that impress others.

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Transcript

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So one fun thing that we do with my mom, dad, and my sisters is we have Christmas at my mom's house a week or two weeks before Christmas. So we had Christmas at my mom's and it was a really great time. The kids had a blast It was a period of time where I had some alone time with my mom and we sat down and we had a conversation and I was really glad that we were able to sit down and just chat. She was asking me all the questions, like catching up on what I was doing, what the kids are doing. And then the conversation took a bit of a shift when she asked me, so what do you want to do? Do you want to open your own practice? And I tell you immediately, I knew what she was trying to ask me, and I said, no, I wasn't angry. I wasn't defensive. I was just very, very clear. No, I don't want to open my own practice. The thing is, is in. Her mind and a lot of other people's minds, they think that the next step in this profession is having your own practice. Like that is the epitome of being a dentist. And for me, it's not that way. Now, I'll tell you, I did have a dream of having my own practice and I was able to live out that dream through my former boss who let me run his practice like it was mine. It was probably the best seven years that I've had because I learned so much. I grew so much and I realized I don't want this. So going back to that question. So what do you want to do? Do you wanna open your own practice? She's looking at all the things that I've done. As far as in my career and with my military career moving up there as well, and it looks like I should want more, I should aspire to do more, especially being ambitious, like of course you're going to do something else, right? But. The truth is what I want in this season looks very, very boring. I just want to focus on my family. I just wanna be present with my family, and I want to be around my kids a lot because one, I feel like they need me in a different way, and two, they don't stay little forever. So I am definitely trying to enjoy this, especially as I now have a teenager. So I'll be honest, when she asked me What do you want to do, how I answered it really set her off. But it was the truth. And what I told her was, I wanna be a kept wife. And I was joking halfway, but not really. But what. I mean, again, is I want to be present. I want to have time, but I also want to make an impact without having to chase the next ring in the ladder. And so I'm sharing all this with you because I shared this exact story in an email to my email list, and it resonated with several moms. And I want you to know that the pressure to want more, the pressure to keep climbing, the pressure to keep proving in being an ambitious woman that you are. You will definitely feel tension with that, and it's okay if in your heart you're like, this isn't my season for that. It's okay that you focus on one thing that looks very boring in a lot of people's eyes. It's okay if your dreams look quieter in this season. It's okay if what you do doesn't impress anyone. But at the end of the day, what really matters is what you feel good about, not what you're supposed to do, not what you should do, and not what you others think that you should do. So I want you to move into 2026 knowing that whatever is on your heart is totally fine, even if it's not impressing anyone. And to really embrace it, because I will tell you my goals for 2026 are a little bit on the boring side because I'm not trying to climb Mount Everest or do something big and extravagant. I am really focused on doing something that's very quiet and just. Revolves around focusing on my family and taking care of myself. So that's what I wanted to share with you this week. I hope that you have a merry, Merry Christmas, happy New Year, and I will see you in 2026, and we are gonna really have some fun working on our weekly routines. So I'll see you next time. Take care, and with lots of love.