64: Why “being a good mom” is exhausting and what to do instead, with Diane Sorensen

This week on The Life Management System, I’m welcoming the wise, grounded, and deeply empathetic Diane Sorensen.

Diane’s background spans early education, behavior science, motherhood, step-parenting, grandmotherhood, and now a powerful late-career transition into life coaching and hypnotherapy.

But what makes this conversation so impactful is why she stepped into this work.

Her story begins with a personal crisis – her daughter’s mental-health struggle – that cracked her open, exposed the unsustainable pressures she was placing on herself, and led her to redefine motherhood, connection, and self-worth.

This episode is for any mom who has ever feared messing up, felt the weight of perfectionism, or wondered how to shift from reactive parenting to relational, grounded presence.

💡 INSIDE THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

• Diane’s unexpected transition from educator to life coach + hypnotherapy practitioner
• How her daughter’s mental-health crisis revealed just how much pressure she was carrying
• The link between being the “good mom” and unintentionally placing expectations on our kids
• Why parenthood is not meant to define us, but to grow us
• What it looks like to move from reactivity to true connection in relationships
• How unresolved internal pain can shape the way we parent
• Why self-worth and self-compassion are essential tools for modern motherhood
• What women can do to regulate themselves before trying to regulate their children
• Why mistakes in motherhood are inevitable, and how to approach them with resilience instead of shame ❤️

🔗 RESOURCES & LINKS MENTIONED:

• Connect with Diane on Instagram
• Listen to Diane’s podcast → Chaos to Connection
• Courtney on Instagram
• Free guide: How to more productively manage your to-do list
• Join REtreat (yo’ self): A luxury girl’s weekend

💬 FAVORITE QUOTES:

“Parenthood isn’t here to define us, it’s here to grow us.” – Diane

“Our children become our greatest teachers when we stop trying to be perfect.” – Diane

“We can’t connect with our kids if we’re constantly abandoning ourselves.” – Courtney

💥 EPISODE TAKEAWAY:

You can’t build connection from a place of reactivity.

When you stop performing for approval and start living from your inner truth, everything shifts – your relationships, your parenting, your peace, and the emotional climate of your home.

📈 KEYWORDS:

reactive parenting, connection-based parenting, motherhood pressure, mom perfectionism, emotional regulation for moms, parent-child connection, Diane Sorensen Chaos to Connection, self-worth for moms, anxiety in teens, parenting mental health, behavior science parenting, mother wound, generational patterns, hypnotherapy for motherhood, working moms podcast, emotional resilience, modern motherhood support, boundaries and parenting, Life Management System podcast, Courtney Cecil Anderson