On Thursdays my 8 year old eats lunch at school. On other days he eats with me, but because I have a work commitment on some Thursdays (it’s when I attend my mastermind), Thursday is a day he has lunch at school, while his little brother eats with a close relative.

Recently, when I reminded him of this, he started moaning, as he usually does, about how he didn’t want to eat at school. As the mom guilt started to creep in, I remembered that he’d told me last week that he loved lunchtime at school because he got to play with one of his favourite friends.

So I reminded him. I thought you liked eating lunch at school now because you get to play with your friend? He paused, said yes…but…and seemed to be searching for another reason.

Is it because you don’t like the food? I asked, because that’s something he’s told me before. He paused again and then said, actually I do like the food…

So I asked him: If you like the food and you like playing with your friends, do you think you might actually like eating at school sometimes?

He thought about it, grinned and nodded.

We ended up having a lovely conversation about the fact that there had been things in the past that he didn’t like about eating at school, but that now he actually quite liked it. He’d just got into the habit of feeling negative about it, even though it had become something he enjoyed.

We talked about the importance of paying attention to how we really feel, rather than the story we’ve carried from the past. I have to admit, it was one of those mom moments that leaves you feeling like you might be doing something right.

Do you know yet where I’m going with this?

Later that night, as I reflected on the conversation, I thought about how often our stories about things in our business like launching, sales, content, or outreach shape how we feel about doing them.

How often have you sat down at your desk and inwardly groaned at the idea of writing a piece of content, only to find that when you get into it, you actually enjoy the creativity and the personal expression of it?

Or how often you’ve told yourself that outreach is hard for an introvert like you, and then when you have those moments of pure connection with another like-minded soul, you remember that meaningful connection is precisely what makes you feel alive?

This is a big part of the work I do. I help people reframe how they think about marketing and tap into what they love about the things they often dread. In one of my own favourite articles, I write about this more explicitly: Are you willing to think about marketing differently? Have a read if you can relate.

This is really an invitation to revisit some of the decisions you’ve made about your business, about the things you don’t enjoy, and ask yourself: are there aspects of this I do or could enjoy if I found a way to do it that fits me?

Start by noticing where the story is older than the truth.

DO YOU WANT TO ROOT & RISE IN 2026?

If you’re interested, I’d love you to check out Root & Rise. My two, year long programs in 2026 designed to help you grow your business with clarity, ease, and integrity.

Head to www.carolineleon.com/mastermind for all the details.