174. How to Deal With Mixed Emotions (Ambition In-Between Series)

I continue my Ambition In Between series by exploring something many of us experience but don’t always name: the mixed emotions that surface after completing a big ambition. I look at why conflicting feelings show up, what they might be pointing to, and how we can work with them instead of against them.

Toward the end of the episode, I offer several sets of reflection questions to help you review your year, make sense of the emotional complexity that may have surfaced over the past twelve months, and consider what you want to carry into 2026. 

Whether you’re at the end of a big project, navigating a transition, or simply noticing conflicting feelings about where you are right now, this episode invites you to expand your lens, honor the “both/and,” and move forward with more clarity and self-trust.

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What is Sustainable Ambition?

How do you navigate the inevitable conflicts between work and life? Not just the daily schedules or mounting responsibilities, but the tensions between your ambition for your career and your ambition for life?

How do you decide what to prioritize and what to let go of? How do you decide when to speed ahead and when to ease up?

These aren’t questions of work-life balance or self-care. They’re questions we can answer when we get serious about intentionally designing a life with work that works for you.

Join Kathy Oneto, executive and life-work coach and founder of Sustainable Ambition, for conversations with experts, authors, and friends to explore sticky questions around navigating ambitious careers while integrating life with work, practicing sustainable work practices, and building resilience.

Most people assume that ambition and sustainability are mutually exclusive. Not so! Keep listening, and Kathy will make you a believer in Sustainable Ambition, too.
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