🎙️Everyone says find your why. Nobody says how.

A one-hour exercise from NYU Stern’s Suzy Welch

Everyone tells us to find our why. Almost nobody tells us how. So I’m going to in about 20 minutes, and there’s actual homework.

The women I’ve had on this show who figured out what they wanted next mostly got there by stepping away first: a pause between roles, a sabbatical, or in my case, leaving the country for nine weeks in Portugal with my family, a year after I left corporate. It gave my husband and me real clarity on the values we want to build our lives around. I also know almost none of you have nine weeks to “figure it out.”

So this week’s Toolkit is the version you can do at home. It’s short, it’s specific, and you leave with something to do this week. And if you want to take the assessment behind it, scroll to the bottom for a discount.

Suzy Welch is the author of Becoming You and a professor at NYU Stern who has spent 15 years researching how people find their purpose. Her Values Bridge assessment has been taken nearly 200,000 times. I asked her whether “find your why” is even the right question. She didn’t say no, but she said we need “more than one why,” and then she walked us through an exercise that takes under an hour to give you way more clarity than you could imagine.

Where the hour comes from

Suzy’s exercise takes under an hour, and the hardest part for most of us is finding that hour at all. Mine comes from a house manager. Outside of childcare, she’s the budget line I’d protect the hardest. She comes daily: cleaning, laundry, meal prep, organizing. She’s the one system in my house that never needs a prompt.

Sage Haus does the sourcing and vetting to find your perfect house manager. Use code NEWMODERNMOM for $100 off matching. Book a free 30-minute info call now.

In partnership with Sage Haus

Take Suzy’s Values Assessment

The Values Bridge assessment is 20% off with code NEWMODERNMOM.

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🔥 Rapid fire with Suzy

I text every guest the same questions. Here’s what she sent back.

Professional superpower: I am constitutionally incapable of giving up on people or projects.
Cooking: If it’s pasta, I’m eating it.
Reading: Whistler by Ann Patchett and I never miss Chrissy Rutherford’s blog, Forward Joy
Listening to: I am a 90s grunge girl, and I have been listening to a lot of vintage Breeders lately
Wearing: I am addicted to High Sport pants and sweater sets. Also, I have been wearing clogs since I was 9 years old.
Daily routine: NYT crossword and Wordle. Addicted.
AI she’s testing: Claude
Non-negotiables: I talk to my four year old granddaughter Every. Single. Day.

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You don’t need nine weeks somewhere else. You need an hour and a

Notebook.

Start here.

The next episode comes out in two weeks. Subscribe where you listen so you don’t miss it.

Barbara