Hi everyone,

“There is nothing holding you back in life more than yourself.” – Brianna Wiest

I hate that this quote is true. Because it would be so much easier if we could blame external factors, wouldn’t it? The difficult partner. The unsupportive boss. The system that wasn’t built for us.

And yes – those things are real. They exist. They matter.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth I’ve watched play out hundreds of times in our community:

The biggest obstacle between you and the career you want is often the voice in your own head.

You know the one. The voice that says:

• “I’m not ready for that promotion yet” (even though you’ve been ready for two years)
  
  
• “I shouldn’t ask for more money, I just got a raise last year” (while your male colleague negotiates annually)
  
  
• “Maybe I’ll pitch that client next quarter” (and next quarter never comes)
  
  
• “I don’t want to seem pushy” (translation: I don’t want to seem competent and ambitious)
  
  

We call this the upper limit problem.

Here’s how it works:

You have an invisible ceiling in your mind about how much success, money, recognition, or happiness you’re “allowed” to have. And the moment you start to exceed that limit? Your brain freaks out and finds creative ways to pull you back down.

You self-sabotage. You pick fights. You get “too busy” to follow up on opportunities. You suddenly decide you need to “focus on other priorities.”

Sound familiar?

I see this play out constantly with women in law:

The brilliant associate who “forgets” to follow up after a great pitch meeting.

The in-house counsel who downplays her achievements in performance reviews.

The partner who says yes to everyone else’s requests but never asks for what she needs.

The lawyer who works twice as hard as her peers but attributes her success to “luck.”

We’re not doing this because we’re weak. We’re doing it because somewhere along the way, we absorbed the message that taking up space, asking for more, or owning our success makes us unlikeable. Difficult. Too much.

So we unconsciously keep ourselves small.

The good news?

Once you see the pattern, you can break it.

That’s exactly why we’re hosting a webinar with Crina Ancuta, MD on January 23rd. Crina specializes in helping high-achieving professionals identify and break through their upper limits.

This isn’t a “think positive thoughts” kind of session. This is about recognizing the specific ways you sabotage yourself and learning practical tools to stop.

Because here’s what I know after four years of running Women in Law:

Your competition isn’t other lawyers. Your competition is the version of yourself who’s too afraid to try.

So if you’re tired of being your own biggest obstacle, join us on the 23rd.

It’s time to raise that ceiling.

Laura

PS: Photo by Diogo Ferrer on Unsplash