The Identity Shift No One Warns High-Performing Moms About with Alexis Adams Artwork

The Sparkle Project

The version of motherhood we're sold looks nothing like the one we're actually living. That's by design.

The Sparkle Project is for the moms who are done pretending otherwise, and ready to reclaim the parts of themselves that got lost along the way. Hosted by Emily MacDonald, a single mom, feminist, and late-diagnosed ADHDer, each episode digs into the identity shifts, invisible labor, and systemic failures that make motherhood so hard. You'll hear from the experts, advocates, and real women who are finding their way back to themselves, so you can feel less alone in the hard parts and more like yourself in all the rest.

Somewhere between the mental load and the mom guilt, your shine is still there. The Sparkle Project is your space to find it.

(Formerly Worthy Mother Podcast)

All Episodes

The Sparkle Project

The Identity Shift No One Warns High-Performing Moms About with Alexis Adams

August 11, 2026 • Episode 208

0:00 | 43:17

You spent your whole life being the woman who worked hard, achieved your goals, and built an identity around being capable. Then motherhood arrived - and suddenly the strategies that always worked stopped working.

Many ambitious women enter motherhood believing they'll simply add "mom" to everything they've already built. Instead, they find themselves questioning their identity, battling perfectionism, and wondering why they no longer feel successful in the ways they once did. In this episode, Emily sits down with licensed mental health therapist and coach Alexis Adams to unpack the challenges high-achieving women often face in motherhood.

Together they explore the hidden pressure to perform, the emotional patterns that keep moms stuck, and why the answer isn't simply doing less. Alexis also shares her POWER framework for creating lasting change, helping moms move away from reacting out of fear and toward living with greater intention.

In this episode, they discuss: