Insights

If you’re reading this, there’s a fair chance you’re navigating midlife, career change and the often-under-acknowledged swirl of menopause. Let’s be clear: this is not  a time to quietly fade into the background . It’s a hot flush-fuelled springboard for reinvention, for flipping the script on what “mid-career” means, and for embracing micro-revolutions — those small, dare-I-say cheeky acts of not giving a toss in the very best sense of the phrase. Having a laugh with clients

As mid-career professional women, we carry rich histories. We’ve led teams, drawn on our experience, navigated transitions and taken our share of learning curves. Yet there comes a moment when we must pause, honour what has passed and consciously open the next chapter. On Remembrance Sunday and beyond, we can draw on the themes of remembrance, reflection and renewal to foster strong leadership in this season of our lives. My Dad and Grandads regimental tankards, along with v

By Amanda Connolly, Career & Wellbeing Coach, Pause & Empower Hello wonderful women transitioning through career, life, and yes — that menopausal chapter too. It’s Amanda here, waving a light-hearted but earnest hello. Right now we’re edging into the week of 3–7 November 2025—yes, you guessed it: International Stress Awareness Week .   isma.org.uk +1  This is a perfect moment for us to pause, reflect, and align our work-lives and menopausal lives in a way that honours both ou

It feels fitting to be writing this during   Diwali  — the Hindu festival of lights — a time when homes across South Asia and Britain glow with candles and colour, celebrating the triumph of light over darkness, hope over despair. So, I’m moving a little out of my own comfort zone here, shining my coaching torch into a space I’ve not personally lived but deeply admire: the midlife career transitions of South Asian British women   navigating the crazy (and often chaotic) worl

By an ADHD Career Coach for Menopausal Women! I’ll be honest — menopause was already throwing enough curveballs my way. Hot flushes that could warm a small village. Brain fog that turns simple tasks into advanced cryptography. And now, apparently, a shiny new label to add to the mix: ADHD . Yes, that’s right. At an age when many of us are supposed to be “slowing down”, I was suddenly facing a realisation that I’d been neurodiverse all along. It’s a curious and often misunders

10 October marked World Mental Health Day —a timely reminder that our mental health deserves just as much attention as our physical health. As a Mental Health First Aider , I can’t recommend upskilling in this area highly enough. (Most good courses are at least 2 full days, but it's worth the time and energy.)  For many of us in the more “experienced” generation, mental health was something rarely spoken about at work. We pushed through, kept calm, and carried on. When you kn

October marks World Menopause Month, a time when conversations about midlife health and wellbeing take centre stage. For many of us...

On a crisp Saturday in Bedford, I spent the day with a stranger hugging other strangers. Not a metaphorical hug, but actual...

The books say that autumn is the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. But let’s be honest: here in the UK, it’s also the season when...

On Saturday 13th September, I did something that, for me, was pretty brave: I drove to Northampton. For most people, that might sound...

When I moved to Bedford recently, I was looking for ways to meet new people, get myself moving, and shake up old routines. Around the...

When most people think of coaching, they imagine one-to-one sessions: a client, a coach, and a goal to be achieved. But the coaching world is far bigger, broader, and more colourful than that. There are life coaches, business coaches, executive coaches, wellbeing coaches, performance coaches, and coaches who specialise in everything from leadership to lifestyle. With so many approaches, it can be difficult for someone new to coaching to know exactly where to start. That’s whe

As the leaves should  be turning golden but instead cling on in the sporadically blazing heat, something else is stirring: it’s...

This week marks World Humanitarian Day (19 August) —a moment to celebrate compassion, service, and the power of making a difference. It...

When you hear “International Youth Day”—which brightens up the calendar every 12 August—most people picture teens, TikTokers, and...

Picture this: You’re lying back in a plastic donut, getting gently maneuvered down the coast line of Kos by the tidal flow, mildly...

Circle Monday 4 August 2025  on your calendar—it’s National Single Working Women’s Day , an uplifting celebration of women who are...

I felt compelled to write this piece after months of having a good (and justified) moan about how big business is cashing in on our...

Once upon a hot flush, in a land filled with scatter cushions and forgotten passwords, a group of midlife women were quietly (or not so...

You’re in midlife. You've experienced a few hot flushes, maybe a foggy board meeting, and you're thinking: “Could a career change help...