OVER the weekend, I had the pleasure of rewatching my two favorite movies from the 20N0s: “The Intern” starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway and of course, the cult favorite, “The Devil Wears Prada.” And while I only intended for these movies to just play in the background as I went on with my weekend chores, I found myself forgetting about the chores and remaining solely focused on the screen.

Both films reminded me of my own career journey only because when I was younger I often turned to the arts aka film and literature to make sense of what was happening in my own world. The Devil Wears Prada brought me back to the days of being a young Public Relations executive who was forever running around in high heels while packing PR boxes, managing events, and doing everything but force wonderful media people to attend a rather boring event about real estate. It reminded me of my desire to wear nice clothes, be in those heels, and own the elusive Prada bag one day. The Intern on the other hand is now one that I can relate to at 35. When I first watched it eight years ago, I couldn’t quite understand the depth of what Anne Hathaway’s character was going through but oh boy, I do now.

Ironically, watching these films coincided with the latest series of my favorite podcast, “Ten Percent Happier,” called “Sanely Ambitious.” For most of you who are not as obsessed with the Dan Harris produced podcast, Ten Percent Happier is a podcast developed by former ABC Anchor Dan Harris now Mental Health Evangelist and every week, there are meditations available (one is titled “How To Not Be a Pushover”) and of course weekly interviews with mental health professionals. This month focuses on revisiting our career, how we look. Every week an expert talks about how to remain ambitious without losing our sanity. This speaks greatly to me as a middle aged (ouch!) mom of a toddler because gone were the days when I was looking for the high of being in high heels and instead, I now take pleasure in the behind the scenes work. These days I crave stability, peace of mind, and am more focused on managing my internal world.

It’s not easy but as Dan Harris and his guest said, it is possible to be sanely ambitious!

Here are some nuggets of wisdom that I have picked up from the first two episodes of the series and hopefully it helps you in your journey as well.

Work does not define me inspired by the Myth of a Dream Job episode with Simone Stolzoff. As a young single gal, my work used to define me. I was also very impressionable in the mid 2000s at the height of the ‘Girlboss’ era and so I allowed work to be the only focus of my life. I chased after job titles, degrees, and even fostered relationships within the work environment. It was only recently that I’ve learned to detach my personal and professional life and not to allow myself to be consumed by what I do from 9 to 5 and instead cultivate a life that is full and whole.

Now this doesn’t mean I get to travel every weekend or spend my day not working but instead, I took away having so much of my worth embedded with my job. My job is my job and I am extremely grateful for it but there are other parts of my life that I cultivate and bringing it all together makes for a beautiful, fulfilled life. It’s not the end all be all that it used to be. Looking at it this way and properly unplugging after hours has definitely helped me be a better human overall.

The importance of empathy in providing feedback inspired by The Dharma of Work by Matthew Hepburn. This is something that I am constantly working on with my therapist and members of my care team – the ability to draw a boundary between being too permissive and being overly aggressive. Listening to both Dan Harris and Matthew Hepburn admit that they don’t get it right all the time gave me the encouragement I needed to keep going. It’s extremely important to be empathetic and be very clear in one’s communication especially when providing feedback. To listen to this, along with other nuggets such as embracing meditation in your daily waking work life, definitely strengthened my resolve to keep bringing my practice to real life applications and knowing that there is hope when you are dedicated to improving one’s self.