By Ana Chaud
The Unexamined Arc of Achievement
Achievement for many of us, as high-performing women, becomes the architecture of our identity. Women have reached the top, but too often the price is far higher than it should be. In my work with high-achieving women, and in my own life, I have found that many of us sacrifice family life or our own wellbeing to sustain success. Despite progress, the trade-off between career and personal life remains one of the most painful realities for women who achieve at the highest levels.
Reaching the top becomes a badge of honor that is hard to let go. What holds us there is not ego or perks, but the weight of everything we sacrificed to get there.
I grew up in Latin America, in a culture defined by male dominance and constant hurdles for women in the workforce. I was raised by a strong mother who navigated extraordinary constraints to succeed. She showed me what was possible. She was a pioneer who believed women could lead, build, and shape their own futures. She became a lawyer, an entrepreneur, and a civic leader at a time when women held little institutional power.
What shaped me more than her achievements was the relentless pace and pressure she maintained. She worked without rest and without space for herself. And the toll claimed her life too early.
Only later did I see myself repeating the same pattern. My entrepreneurial journey convinced me that sacrifice was the price of success. I set goals, chased a moonshot, and refused to stop until I reached it. That path left its mark, and my children saw their single mother tense, stressed, and carrying more than they wished for me, and likely more than I needed to carry.
A few years after my business exit, in my work with other high-achieving women, I saw the same cycle play out. Many women pushed aside their own wellbeing to sustain success. The cost fell on their families, friendships, and health.
Yet, like me, many of us resisted change. Whether out of fear, guilt, or uncertainty, we longed for something different.
Midlife as a Point of Reassessment
In our 40s and 50s, children grow up, friends move away, loved ones are lost. Longevity feels different when events once thought to be remote become close. And the physiological changes bring a new perspective to self care.
At the same time, many of us also manage multiple roles: caregiving, transitions in partnership, and careers. The capacity required is significant.
During perimenopause and menopause, hormonal fluctuations affect brain function, energy, and decision-making. More than physical changes, these shifts open the mind to question whether the life we have built should continue as it is. Biochemistry reshapes perception itself, and with it, the questions we ask about our relationships, our work, and our identity.
What once felt manageable may no longer feel sustainable. Adjustments begin to take place, often quietly and steadily – leaving long term relationships, changing career paths, re-evaluating friendships, or redefining priorities. This stage does not stay contained; it reshapes the body, the mind, and the way we live.
Biochemistry leads us to reassess. Yet that pull often collides with decades of conditioning, the beliefs, expectations, and “shoulds” that tell us to keep going as we always have. The result can feel like a tug-of-war between the changes our bodies are driving and the patterns we have long lived by.
Transformation vs. Recalibration
“Transformation” has become the promise of the last decade. Courses, retreats, and programs invite women to reinvent themselves completely, offering a vision of starting over from scratch. The word is seductive; it suggests freedom, boldness, a brand-new life.
Transformation often implies tearing everything down. But the leaders I work with aren’t always looking to start over. They are looking to recalibrate. Recalibration means refining what is already here, making adjustments without discarding the foundation.
Much of what we have built has value worth keeping. The real work is to name what serves us and release what does not, so our time, energy, and focus are aligned with what matters most.
In this stage, external accomplishments may remain, but purpose shifts. The drive that once fueled achievement no longer feels as clear. Recalibration is the way we bring our outer success and inner meaning back into alignment.
Moving Forward with Deliberate Design
We can move through life by default, or we can deliberately design it. Default keeps us repeating old patterns. Design asks us to live with intent. It calls for being strategic about how we choose, where we focus, and how we direct our energy.
Deliberate design begins with small, intentional shifts rooted in deeper self-knowledge: who we are and what brings us fulfillment in life’s many dimensions: health, work, family, community, finances, time, spirituality.
The ability to direct energy with intention may be the most valuable skill in our 40s and 50s. When our values, energy, and decisions align, life becomes more sustainable. The pace may not slow, but the experience becomes more coherent and meaningful.
This stage invites refinement. The choices we make now shape the years ahead. And clarity informs how we live, how we lead, and how we connect. Life design makes that clarity actionable.
From Intention to Action
Life design becomes real when intention turns into action. In my work with women leaders, I return again and again to six components that make it both practical and sustainable.
- Envision the Possible – Give yourself permission to imagine what life could look like beyond the roles, routines, and limits you have carried until now. Vision sets the horizon.
- Build Your Beliefs – Examine the assumptions and stories that drive your choices. Redefine the ones that limit you and strengthen the ones that carry you forward.
- Create Your Community – Surround yourself with people who support the life you are building and hold space for your growth, not just your performance.
- Shape Your Behaviors – Align daily actions with what you value. Small, repeated choices build the foundation of the life you want.
- Design Your Time – Treat time as your most finite resource. Shape your days and seasons with intention so they reflect what matters most rather than what presses hardest.
- Make It Happen – Move vision into reality through steady action. Progress comes not from insight alone but from consistent steps that accumulate over time.
These components are practical levers and when engaged with intention and consistency, they move us into coherence.
The Collective Impact
I am the founder of Sankalpa Life, a community for women leaders, in midlife, who seek more meaning and connection. I am passionate about helping women navigate self-discovery and design their next chapter with a focus on health, wellbeing and fulfillment.
Sankalpa Life was born from the understanding that high-performing women in midlife face unique hurdles – ageism, social isolation, and health transitions – that can erode self-confidence and limit perceived options. Many find themselves at a crossroads, uncertain of their place in a changing world.
As women step into their full potential, they create a ripple effect across families, communities, and society. They become role models, challenging stereotypes and reshaping perceptions of aging. By tapping into the wisdom of this stage of life, we not only change individual lives but contribute to a more inclusive and dynamic society.
Ana Chaud is the Co-Founder and COO of FiftyPages and a seasoned entrepreneur with nearly three decades of experience guiding startups and scaling businesses. Born and raised in Brazil, Ana immigrated to the U.S. at 21 and built a life marked by personal reinvention and professional achievement. Raised in a home that championed female independence, Ana grew up believing that women could do anything. Yet her life has been a testament to the idea that a singular “calling” isn’t always revealed early on and that meaning and reinvention can occur at any stage. With a BA in Communications, an MBA in Finance, and a wide range of professional certifications, Ana combines academic depth with lived experience. Ana’s true zone of genius lies in helping high-achieving individuals reconnect with what matters most. She is known for turning abstract visions into tangible results guiding clients through transformative moments with clarity, purpose, and action.
