What if doing less is actually the strategy?
Read time: 5 minutes
Welcome to The Conscious.Me Newsletter. We write for aspiring women leaders and our allies ready to lead with deep presence, power, and purpose. Each week, you’ll get grounded insights, mindset shifts, and micro-practices to help you rise above self-doubt and lead with courage and clarity.
If you’re new here, welcome. Your inner wisdom belongs at the table.
Join 50,000+ readers who read us every Friday.
Radhika Gupta, CEO of Edelweiss Asset Management, Investor and Storyteller called my first book “A thoughtful guide to mindful living and leadership”. Join hundreds of readers who have embraced The Conscious Choice worldwide.
| Order the Conscious Choice Today! |
What if doing less is actually the strategy?
For a long time, I believed that growth came from adding more.
More goals.
More effort.
More discipline.
More doing.
And if I’m honest, I kept adding… until I didn’t even know what the finish line was anymore.
Each milestone quickly replaced by the next.
Each achievement followed by another expectation.
If you’re someone navigating a full life – career, family, children, responsibilities…you’ve probably felt this too.
That quiet pressure to keep adding…
even when your plate is already full.
But over time, both through my work and my own life, I’ve come to see something different:
Your next breakthrough may not come from adding more.
It may come from removing what’s in the way.
This idea isn’t new.
In Taoist philosophy, the best leaders are described as gardeners.
They don’t force growth.
They don’t pull at the plant to make it grow faster.
They simply create the right conditions.They clear the weeds, improve the soil, ensure there is enough water and sunlight…
And then…They trust the process.
Modern neuroscience has arrived at the same truth from a completely different direction. When we operate under chronic stress, cortisol floods our system. And cortisol, that persistent companion of the overloaded professional woman, doesn’t just make us tired. It actively blocks creativity, learning, and collaboration. It narrows our thinking exactly when we need it most expansively.
Pressure doesn’t accelerate growth. It stunts it.
Which means the real work – especially in this season of your life – is not always to push harder.
It’s to pause and ask:
What is currently getting in the way?
What this looks like in your leadership
If you’re leading a team, growth doesn’t come from constant pressure.
It comes from removing invisible barriers:
- Remove fear → Create spaces where people can say “I don’t know” without judgmen.t
- Remove overwhelm → Replace endless to-do lists with clarity on what actually matters.
- Remove rigidity → Give people ownership. Trust them to think, not just execute.
Because when people feel safe, clear, and trusted, performance becomes a natural outcome
And what this looks like for you
This is the part we often ignore.
Because it’s easier to optimize systems…than to look inward.
But your capacity as a leader is deeply connected to the space you create within yourself.
Here are a few shifts I personally come back to:
- Remove self-criticism
I’ve learned that growth accelerates in environments that feel safe – even internally.
Celebrate small wins. They matter more than you think. - Remove digital noise
Even 30 minutes of uninterrupted, distraction-free time can reset your clarity for the day. - Remove misalignment
I often pause and ask: Is this something I truly want, or something I’ve been conditioned to chase? - Remove comparison
The more I focus on my own path, the quieter the noise becomes.
This is where ancient wisdom meets modern life.
You don’t need to do more to become a better leader.
You need to create better conditions – externally and internally.
Because when the soil is right, growth doesn’t feel forced. It happens naturally.
**Your action for this week:**
Choose one thing to remove. Just one. A commitment that drains more than it gives. A habit that fills time without fulfilling you. A standard you’ve been holding yourself to that was never actually yours. Let it go with intention, not guilt.
And notice what grows in the space it leaves behind.
So today, I’ll leave you with this:
What is one thing you can remove this week – to create more space for clarity, growth, or ease?
An Invitation to Shape What’s Next at Shenomics
We’re building Shenomics 2.0 – and I’d love your input.
Every once in a while, we pause to listen more deeply.
Right now is one of those moments.
We’re reimagining the next chapter of Shenomics…what modern, meaningful support should look like for women navigating careers, leadership, and life.
And your voice matters here.
Whether you’ve been with us for years, joined recently, or experienced one of our programs, this is for you.
If you can take 8-10 minutes to fill out this survey, it will directly shape what we build next.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
With warmth,
Bhavna