In this episode of The Power of Your Story Podcast, Emma Saloranta Winiecki shares her journey of balancing motherhood and her professional life. She talks about self-doubt and finding her way back into the workforce. The impossible equation of “having it all” as mothers is something that she thinks about a lot. Emma shares these thoughts and struggles openly through social media. And in this episode, she also talks about what sharing her story means to her.

“It’s funny, most recently the moments when I’ve felt most confident are those moments when I’m making myself most vulnerable in a way. The moments when I’m sharing without a filter.”

“Learning to trust my abilities as something else than a mom, has turned out to be easier said than done. I’m in the process of trying to rebuild that self-confidence.”

Emma Saloranta Winiecki talks about her journey as a professional and the struggles of reentering the workforce as a mother of two. While sharing about her insecurities openly on Instagram, Emma has connected with other women who have experienced similar situations. Women have shared their own stories, given encouragement and Emma has had the chance to encourage others.

“There is this village of professional women in all sorts of different fields, who have each other’s backs. We just need to reach out and say, ‘I need help’.”

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⁣ ⁣ Be ambitious, woman. Chase your passion. Get an education, define those career goals, become financially independent. Be assertive, but not bitchy. Be brave, but not naive. Smile, but not too much. Be serious, but don’t look angry. ⁣ ⁣ But wait: there’s more to life than work. You can’t just define yourself through your career. Find someone. Fall in love. Start a family. Being pregnant and working full time can be a bitch, but power through – you’re built for this. ⁣ ⁣ Now you’re a mother. Be gentle, but set boundaries. Bounce back, but not too fast. Take care of yourself, but take care of others first. Get enough rest, but don’t expect more than 4 hours of sleep per night. Be crunchy, but in a scientific way – so read those peer reviewed studies. Breastfeed, but not too long. Don’t hover, but always be available. ⁣ ⁣ But wait: Did you think there’s paid maternity leave from that career you spend all that time building? Think again. Maybe you get paid leave if you work for a good employer – but legally, three months unpaid is what you get (if your company has 50 employees or more). Can’t afford it? Too bad. Figure it out. Make a choice: go back to work when your baby is little and pay for full time care. Hope you’re covered by the “Break Time for Nursing Mothers” law, so that you can take legal (unpaid) pumping breaks if you breastfeed. You have to stay on top of your workload, no slacking! But also, get home by 5pm – you didn’t have a baby just so someone else can raise them, did you? ⁣ ⁣ Or stay at home. Walk away from that career. But you can’t JUST be a mother. There’s more to you then that! Don’t let motherhood take up your identity. I mean, what do you do at home all day anyways? How much work can kids be? Remember to hit the gym and yoga class. Meditation is key to a happy mama, so better find time for that too. And therapy and mindfulness. Happy balanced mama is the key to a happy balanced family! ⁣ ✨✨✨✨ I’m not a fan of the “having it all” narrative, because I believe it just sets us up for failure – but I do believe balance exists somewhere out there. Finding it, though, is easier said than done. ⁣ #balance

A post shared by Emma Saloranta Winiecki (@theimpossibleequation) on Feb 17, 2020 at 3:04pm PST

The Power of Your Story podcast is produced by Girls’ Globe in partnership with SayItForward.org. Say It Forward is the platform where any woman and girl can share her unique story of overcoming self-doubt or barriers in her life. The stories are shared unfiltered in any language and shows the immense courage and strength that we all possess.