Our Hania recently completed the first stage of her higher education.
We spent a wonderful day together, celebrating her success and sharing her joy.
For me, it was also a moment of reflection.
I have an adult daughter who follows her dreams, pursues her goals, seizes opportunities, and does it all beautifully.
Of course, our support matters. It’s an expression of care and love.
And yet, I found myself wondering whether sometimes my care might be a little too much.
Perhaps it’s tinged with fear — that if I don’t ask, remind, or check in, something might “fall apart.”
When care mixes with fear, it can happen that I try too hard.
Or maybe I simply can’t fully relax when everything is going well?
Or perhaps this is where my own shadows come to light — the need for control, or the need for significance through helping?
I think Hania sometimes experiences it as overprotection or a lack of trust.
And I — perhaps unconsciously and innocently — may influence how she sees herself, how she trusts herself, how she believes in her own agency and resilience.
Do I truly believe and trust that we all have access to the same inner resources?
I think that’s an important question — for every leader. At home, in life, and in organizations.
Although these are fresh questions for me, I sense that my relationship to “caring for” Hania and others is transforming.
There is less fear, and more freedom — for all of us.
Sometimes it’s enough just to see something and pause with it — and then something begins to shift within us, leading us toward greater well-being.