What is your stopping point?

Don’t let someone else’s stopping point become your stopping point - this piece of wisdom from a coach I studied with was the best thing I heard today.

How often have you put your dreams on hold - promotions, pay rises, opportunities, funding, etc. - because of limitations that someone else forces you to abide by?

To be totally transparent, I am guilty of playing the game this way too.

Naturally, in some cases a NO might be nothing but a no. That’s life, and we grow up learning to accept these kinds of outcomes.

But no one is asking you to lower your self concept just because of that NO.

The NO does not mean that you have to fit into that narrative of limitation.

The NO does not mean that you are any less worthy of a promotion until 2026 or higher compensation until the economy recovers or better opportunities until new projects are won.

When I am coaching someone in such a situation, we take a moment to process the rejection, allow its accompanying emotions to emerge, and then when the time feels right, we get back to work.

A NO should only mean a regroup, a review of strategy, reconsidering your options, finding the best way forward, preparing a business case with arguments and counterarguments, building your audacity and your resilience to keep going no matter what. These are the things that I help my coachees put together, and more.

Your sole focus should be the same - to continue to try getting a YES, and not stopping till you do.

Because that bold taking up of space is where the magic happens, Ishwariya Rajamohan.

Most people in life only play defense, but when you play offense is when the game gathers momentum.

That is where you change how others perceive you.

And let's not forget the bigger picture here.

You are not simply doing this for yourself or for your career, but you are also taking a stand for gender equity by resting only when you get a YES.

You are paving new pathways for the women that will walk this same journey after you.

Of course, all of this determined effort is infinitely easier to work through with someone by your side, which is why I created my Aspire & Ascend programme for women who have reached that “now or never” point in their careers, but don’t want to struggle through that journey alone.

Chasing your dreams is an act of vulnerability, so it takes someone with fierce objectivity to keep you on the path when you encounter obstacle after obstacle.

If this is where you are, and now is the time for a different result, then why not give yourself the best shot at achieving those dreams with the help of a coach?

Aspire & Ascend is now open for enrolment and I would love to have a conversation with you about how I can help you achieve that YES in 2026.