If you wake up in the morning and immediately think about how nice it’s going to be to get back in bed that night– you’re clearly exhausted.

A lack of sleep is the easiest way to explain your exhaustion. And for many professional women, that may be true. However, there’s more than just your sleep schedule to consider. Your energy is actually dependent upon many things going on in your life, and a lack of sleep isn’t the only factor. There is a bigger picture to take into consideration, and some of them might surprise you. Here are 4 surprising reasons you’re always exhausted.

Self-development can sometimes seem daunting. So many of my life coaching clients tell me they want to improve their lives and reach new levels of success, but they’re not sure what exactly to do or where to start.

Maybe you feel aimless or unfulfilled in your career.

Or maybe you want to find your purpose and live with excitement and joy.

Or maybe you over-extend yourself and want to improve your work/life balance.

When you’re working towards these goals and continuing to develop yourself personally and professionally, there are TONS of resources available that can help you on your journey. And they don’t have to be complicated or expensive either! Here are 5 simple ways to continue your self-development journey.

’m finding myself in a place of frustration– frustration that there are still huge parts of society that are disempowering women… from the US media, which contains gender stereotypes and tropes that are riddled with gender bias, to the gender pay gap (Hispanic women are paid on average just 55 cents for every dollar paid to white men!)... from the man I heard make a sexist comment at a restaurant last week, to, of course, the US Supreme Court aiming to restrict women’s reproductive rights in 20 states.

Despite disempowerment, inequity, and gender bias we’re experiencing in our society, it is still possible for you to empower yourself– to lift yourself up, to seize new opportunities, to become a female powerhouse, and shatter glass ceilings. There are things we can do– daily actions, behaviors, words, and routines– that can help you embrace your inner powerhouse.

Here are my tips for how to be a female powerhouse in a society that disempowers women.

You had things you wanted to do this weekend— errands you wanted to run, things to take care of around the house, preparing for the week ahead— but… you didn’t get them all done. Instead, you lounged around, scrolled on social media, and binged Netflix while you ate takeout.

Now, you feel guilty. You weren’t as productive as you could’ve been and feel like you need to play “catch up” on your to-do list.

Quit beating yourself up for resting! When exhaustion, fatigue, or just plain “laziness” hits, here’s what to do instead.

It’s tough to drag yourself to work when you feel like you don’t have any energy. You probably rely on caffeine to get you through the day, struggle with the afternoon slump, end up snacking, and tend to lose focus as your energy goes up and down, up and down.

What would it be like for you to get out of bed with purpose and energy? What would you do with that extra energy?

Maybe you could finally get that promotion you’ve been hoping for. Maybe you would use it to focus on your health, getting back into shape so you can feel good in your body. Or maybe you would be able to feel more connected and engaged with your family after work.

Here are 3 ways to have more energy at work.

Flow is a classic book in the world of psychology, and for a good reason. It was written in 1990 by one of the founding fathers of Positive Psychology, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, after decades of research. The goal of Csikszentmihalyi’s research was to discover what creates an “optimal experience” for people. In other words, when are we MOST happy? When do we thrive as humans?

It’s not what you’d expect! Csikszentmihalyi found that people are NOT most happy when they are on vacation, sipping a cocktail on a beach, or just relaxing at home. Quite the opposite, actually!

Csikszentmihalyi states, “The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”

Your legacy is the impact you leave on the world when you’re gone. It’s how you make your mark, influence others’ lives, and the contributions you leave behind. In short, your legacy is your way of saying, “I made a difference.”

People so often go through life on autopilot, not acting intentionally. When creating your legacy, it’s all about taking deliberate actions to influence the world around you. And the good news is: you can start designing your legacy today. Your words and behaviors carry more weight than you know. You never know who will be touched or inspired by you. Consider the contributions you want to make to the world, the impact you want to have… and then ensure that your daily actions are a reflection of that legacy.

The more successful a woman is, the less likable she is.

Yup, you read that correctly. Research shows that when women are more successful, they are less likable. And for men, it’s the opposite: the more successful a man is, the more likable he is.

Last weekend I ran my first Spartan Race! Participating in this Spartan Race was not only a fun experience, but also quite an achievement. The experience taught me several lessons that can be applied to everyday life that I’m excited to share with y’all. The preparation, planning, mindset, and confidence were all key to achieving success in this race, and the same could be said for other goals in life, too!

CEO, award-winning writer, producer, and multimedia journalist, Pattie Sellers, is credited with saying, “Careers are a jungle gym, not a ladder.”

If you’re a professional woman trying to work your way up the “corporate ladder,” consider this powerful reframe instead.

When climbing a ladder, there is one way up and one way down. You can only get to the top of the ladder one way, and that way is up. You are either on the ladder or off the ladder, moving up or moving down.

Doesn’t that sound… limiting? This restrictive “ladder” view of your career is clearly stifling.

Instead, it’s time to start viewing your career as a jungle gym.

Wanting to help other people isn’t always a bad thing.

However, when putting someone else’s wants and needs comes at the expense of your own, pleasing people can be harmful. And it certainly hurts your leadership capabilities.

Women are particularly more likely to suffer from the disease to please. And really, it’s no surprise: As a young girl in school, you were rewarded for being agreeable, obedient, and polite. You were given gold stars and stickers for staying quiet and following the rules. You were quite literally rewarded for doing what someone else wanted you to do.

As young girls, being a people pleaser may have served you well. In fact, Psychology Today discovered that girls perform better than boys in almost all subjects in school.

However, the same people-pleasing tendencies that served you well as a young girl early in life no longer serve you as an adult woman in the workplace. The need to please may serve you well in the early stages of your career, but it will impede you as you move higher up and erode your capacity to demonstrate leadership.

I hear from many of my life coaching clients that they have felt confident at times in their lives, but are currently lacking confidence in certain areas. For some women, it’s feeling unsure of their work or career situation. For other women, it’s lacking confidence in their health and physical body. And for some, it's just a general feeling of uncertainty about where their life is heading.

When working with me as their life coach, I go back to: do more of what makes you feel confident.

If you really think about it, there are things in life that make you feel confident. You can pinpoint them if you start racking your brain.

Whether you are a woman in the corporate world, a leader within your company, running your own business, or a working mom, there’s nothing wrong with asking for help.

Working with a life coach is the secret weapon to help professional women and female business owners improve their leadership skills, create work-life balance, increase confidence, and lead joyful and fulfilling lives. This ultimate guide to life coaching will help you understand what life coaching is, what a life coach does, the benefits of working with a life coach, and how to find the right coach for you.

There is nothing more draining than ending your workday feeling totally depleted of energy.

One of my Life Coaching clients even describes her work as an “energy vampire.” And it’s not just the physical kind of energy, but also mental and emotional energy.

Whether you’re a professional woman collaborating with other execs in back-to-back meetings, staring at a computer screen from your home office all day, or chatting on the phone with total strangers trying to make a sale, let’s face it, work can be DRAINING.

“Motivation” is fleeting. It’s not something we’re born with. It comes and goes. And it’s not something we can keep. I’m absolutely convinced that motivation doesn't actually exist. Instead, I like to think of motivation as something entirely different: momentum.

The dictionary defines momentum as strength or force gained by motion or by a series of events. So how do you gain momentum in your life? Well, as the dictionary definition suggests, you get momentum by a series of events. Essentially, action creates momentum. So what does it take to gain momentum? It takes action. In order to feel strength, force, or this sense of “motivation” that inspires you to keep going, the only requirement is to get started.

Take action. Some action – any action! It can be a tiny, messy, imperfect action. Sometimes, the uglier the better.

I often tell my Life Coaching clients, “Your relationship with yourself is your most important relationship of all.” In order to feel the whole spectrum of positive emotions towards someone else– joy, love, peace, independence, confidence, and more– you need to feel them towards yourself first.

There are many ways you can show yourself self-love, but today I want to share one of my personal favorite ways… the solo date.

If you’re exhausted, losing focus and motivation, depleted of energy, and feeling negative or helpless, you may be on the road to burnout.

With the added stress of Covid and working from home, many professional women are feeling more burnt out than ever. The lack of boundaries between personal and professional time has only exacerbated the issue of burnout. Many of my life coaching clients have expressed that they feel lost, are depleted of energy (physically, mentally, and emotionally), and don’t know how to dig themselves out of this hole of burnout.

Here are 3 tips for avoiding burnout.

Women who have been content and successful in their corporate jobs for years are beginning to wonder if they actually want to stay.

Working at a large, corporate company comes with its own set of benefits. However, security comes at a cost.

Even with all of these perks, I’m still hearing from dozens of women each week who are utterly miserable in their corporate jobs. However, they don’t want to leave because of the security and stability. They’re wearing golden handcuffs.

I’m just gonna come out and say it: the last two years have been tough.

Nearly every woman I’ve talked to has felt the ups and downs of living through a global pandemic.

It’s affected our families, careers, social lives, health, and nearly every other aspect of life. There have been job changes, births, divorces, new businesses, celebrations, binge-watching Netflix, tears flowing, introspection, and everything in between. It’s like we stepped onto a Covid roller coaster in March 2020 and just when we think the ride is over, it takes us for one more loop.

Does anyone else just feel… a little lost?

Do you have an established morning routine? Or are you constantly pressing snooze and then rushing out the door trying not to spill coffee on yourself?

Research shows that having an intentional morning routine leads to increased productivity, more confidence, better organizational skills, more happiness, and a higher salary.

As a Life Coach who has helped dozens of professional women create and implement effective (and sustainable!) morning routines, I’m sharing my top tips for starting your mornings in a way that will set you up for success throughout the day.