Girls Night #314: I Want Both a Career and Kids — But Everyone Says I Have to Choose
All season long, we’ve been talking about what I call The Everything Era—that season when you have to make so many of the biggest, most consequential decisions of your life all at once. It’s full of possibility, but it’s also full of pressure—especially when some of those decisions don’t seem to fit together very well.
And one of the trickiest examples of that is the tension between career and motherhood. What happens when the rhythm that used to work suddenly doesn’t anymore? When the version of success you used to chase doesn’t quite fit the life you have now? Or when your family needs you in one way, but your career seems to demand something entirely different?
My guest today is Neha Ruch, founder of Mother Untitled and author of The Power Pause: How to Plan a Career Break After Kids—and Come Back Stronger Than Ever.
Through her work, Neha is helping women rethink what it means to take a pause in their careers after having kids—showing that stepping back doesn’t mean stepping away from your ambition. She’s helping us reimagine this in-between space as a powerful, intentional season of reflection and realignment—a chance to build a life and career that actually work together, not against each other.
Whether you’re already a mom, planning for motherhood, or just thinking about what your next chapter might hold, this conversation will give you permission to press pause—not out of fear or failure, but as a power move.
Alright friends, let’s dive in. Here’s my conversation with Neha Ruch.
Mentioned in this episode:
💛 The Power Pause
💛 Love Your Single Life [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/singlelife]
💛 Just Married [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/justmarried]
💛 Becoming Mama [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/becomingmama]
🛒 Stephanie’s Journals & Guides [https://stephaniemaywilsonshop.com/]
Stay connected:
📸 Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/smaywilson/]
📸 Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/neha_ruch]
🌐 Website [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/]
💌 Join the Girls Night Community [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/email]
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Girls Night #313: How to Start Dreaming Again (When life hasn't gone how you thought it would)
Sometimes life doesn’t go the way we planned. The job ends, the relationship shifts, the dream unravels — and we’re left standing in the in-between, wondering how to trust again.
In this episode of our Not the Life I Ordered series, we’re talking about what it looks like to start dreaming again after disappointment.
We’ll talk about rebuilding hope, rediscovering curiosity, and learning to believe that the story of your life might still turn out beautifully — even if it looks nothing like you imagined.
Mentioned in this episode:
💛 Love Your Single Life [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/singlelife]
💛 Just Married [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/justmarried]
💛 Becoming Mama [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/becomingmama]
🛒 Stephanie’s Journals & Guides [https://stephaniemaywilsonshop.com/]
Stay connected:
📸 Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/smaywilson/]
🌐 Website [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/]
💌 Join the Girls Night Community [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/email]
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Girls Night #312: When Everyone Has Their People (And You're Still Looking For Yours)
If you’ve been feeling disconnected lately — like everyone else has their people and somehow you just… don’t — you’re not alone.
In this episode, we’re talking about why friendships fade, why loneliness doesn’t mean something’s wrong with you, and how to start again.
Stephanie shares the five most common kinds of disconnection, what science says about why friendship really matters, and a simple recipe for rebuilding the kind of circle every woman needs.
💛 Listen in, share this episode with a friend who might need it too, and remember: you’re not behind — you’re just between circles.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Girls Night #311: God Doesn't Ask You To Shrink (The difference between 'dying to self' and erasing yourself)
This season, we’ve been talking about what to do when you look around at your life and think, “Wait… this is not what I ordered.” Maybe things didn’t turn out the way you thought they would — and now you’re asking those big, scary, beautiful questions: Who am I now? What do I want? Where do I go from here?
But for a lot of us who grew up in church, those questions can feel… complicated. Because somewhere along the way, we were taught that it’s wrong to want things. That it’s dangerous to trust ourselves. That being a “good Christian woman” means making yourself smaller — dying to yourself, staying quiet, and serving everyone else first.
Today we’re having a conversation I think so many of us need — about what faith actually asks of us. Our guest is Dr. Alison Cook, a therapist, host of The Best of You podcast, and author of the bestselling book by the same name. Alison is an expert at the intersection of faith and psychology.
She helps women heal from past wounds, develop a strong sense of self, and experience a loving God who is for them — not asking them to disappear.
We’re going to talk about what self-denial really means, how to know when faith has turned into self-erasure, and what it looks like to follow Jesus without losing yourself in the process.
You ready? Let’s jump into my conversation with Alison!
Mentioned in this episode:
💛 Love Your Single Life [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/singlelife]
💛 Just Married [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/justmarried]
💛 Becoming Mama [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/becomingmama]
🛒 Stephanie’s Journals & Guides [https://stephaniemaywilsonshop.com/]
Stay connected:
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smaywilson/ | https://www.instagram.com/dralisoncook/
🌐 Website: https://stephaniemaywilson.com/
💌 Join the Girls Night Community: https://stephaniemaywilson.com/email
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Girls Night #310: When You've Lost Touch with Who You Are... (how to get to know yourself again)
Have you ever woken up one day and thought, “I don’t even know who I am anymore?”
Maybe it’s after motherhood, a breakup, a big move, burnout, or even after finally reaching a goal you worked so hard for — and suddenly realizing it doesn’t feel the way you thought it would. Somewhere along the way, between the to-do lists and expectations, you lost touch with the person underneath it all.
In this episode, we’re talking about how to find your way back. 💛
We’ll talk about:
✨ Why we lose touch with ourselves (and why it’s not a failure — it’s human)
✨ How to start hearing your own voice again
✨ Practical ways to rediscover what you love, need, and value in this season
✨ How to rebuild a life that feels like peace on the inside, not just success on the outside
This isn’t a “self-care” conversation — it’s a coming home to yourself conversation.
If you’ve been on autopilot, feeling disconnected from who you are, this episode will help you start to find your way back — gently, honestly, one small step at a time.
So grab a cozy drink and join me — let’s reintroduce you to you.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Girls Night with Stephanie May Wilson is for the recovering rule-follower — the woman who’s done everything “right,” only to realize the plan isn’t working, and it’s time to begin again.
This isn’t just about how to get what you want — it’s about finally figuring out what that is, and then step by step, we’ll give you the tools, language, and confidence to build a life that’s true to you.
From careers to relationships, family to faith, we help quiet the outside voices so you can finally hear your own — and act on it with confidence.
Girls Night is where the woman whispering into the night, “There has to be more than this,” finally finds a life that feels like home.
New Zealand