Episode 10

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Published on:

10th Nov 2025

This Is How She Does It: From Burnout to Reclaiming Herself with Angela Lee

An Interview with Angela Lee

Angela is a working mom of three with a full-time job in marketing and the host of This Is How She Does It, a podcast for working moms navigating the beautiful chaos of motherhood and careers. In this heartfelt conversation, Angela shares her burnout story, what it looked like to try and hold everything together during the pandemic, and how discovering Human Design helped her reconnect with her energy, purpose, and voice.

We talk about motherhood, boundaries, being seen and heard, and how Angela’s journey back to herself led to a deeper connection with her son and a redefinition of what success really means. Whether you’re new to Human Design or deep in your own unfolding, there’s something here for you.

Angela's Podcast This is How She Does It

Angela's Masterclass The Aligned Advantage

Transcript
Speaker:

Welcome to the Unfolding Podcast.

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I am Erica Voell.

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I am a Decision Mentor and Inner-Trust

Guide, and I work with women, mainly those

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in midlife, trust their inner guidance,

understand their unique strengths, and

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stop saying yes to what drains them.

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Using Human Design, coaching and Reiki,

we clear the noise so their no feels

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powerful and their yes feels true.

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This week we have a

really special episode.

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This is my first guest episode on

the Unfolding podcast, and I had the

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pleasure of sitting down with Angela Lee.

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She's a working mom of three with

a full-time job in marketing.

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She's also the host of the

podcast, "This Is How She Does It."

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It's a podcast for working moms,

navigating that beautiful chaos of life.

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This conversation was such a delight,

and we talk about Angela's story,

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the way Human Design has impacted her

life and her family, and how she's

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bringing it into her work with clients.

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It's full of those moments where

you'll find yourself nodding along.

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So let's dive in.

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erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

Welcome, Angela to the Unfolding podcast.

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I'm so excited.

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You are my first guest.

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connected with Angela on a Human Design

group that we are a part of, and I just

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saw her story and listened to her story,

and I connected so deeply with her, and

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I knew she had to be my first guest.

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Listening to that Generator sacral.

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Angela, tell us a little bit about

yourself and who you are and what you do.

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angela_1_10-28-2025_130739: Hi, Erica.

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Thank you.

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I am so honored that you have invited me

on to be your first guest, so thank you.

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Thank you.

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And I am really excited to connect with.

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With you and share a little

bit more about my story.

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First, I'll say that, um, as you have

mentioned in my intro, I am a working

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mom, so I have a corporate job in

marketing and I also have three kids.

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They're elementary school age now,

but my son is, um nine years old.

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And then I have twin girls

who are eight years old.

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So I basically found out when my

son was seven months old that I

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was pregnant with not one, but two.

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So that was like the

biggest shock of my life.

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And I just kind of kept

going with work, right?

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I took the, you know, your normal three

months off when I had my son, I went

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back to work and one of the first things

that I really struggled with going back

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into corporate work was, you know, I have

my MBA, it was always super ambitious.

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Wanted to climb the corporate ladder

and for me personally, I was pretty

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okay about, you know, going to work

and being very like, zoned into work.

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, My mom watched my son that first

year, so I, I knew I had very

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consistent, childcare and like, just

giving my mom, my son to my mom.

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Like it wasn't, you know, I know

other people go to daycare or have

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other, uh, childcare situations, so.

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I just knew my son was loved and protected

and, and that wasn't a big concern for me.

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So when I was at work, I was really

able to be very focused at work

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and then coming home I was able to,

well, this is a place where I like,

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couldn't get work outta my head.

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Right.

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I was actually working for, um, a

company in an, in a global role.

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At the time I was the marketing

manager for Asia Pacific.

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Region.

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And so when I went home I had

to like pick up my son somehow,

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make him food or I don't know.

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I was probably just still bottle-feeding

him at the time, but feed my husband

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and I try to semi keep the house clean.

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And then it was putting my son to

bed and he was a terrible sleeper.

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And so by nine o'clock, 8:00 PM Eastern, I

was jumping on the another phone call with

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asia Pacific 'cause it's now

eight or 9:00 AM on their side.

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And I remember sitting in my son's

room 'cause he's not sleeping now,

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it's eight o'clock and I'm just

like holding him and rocking him.

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And I'm like, this is ridiculous.

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Why am I still working at this time?

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And I knew, you know, that's kind of

the nature of the global role I was in.

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But I just like did not have any work

life balance when I was out of the office

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environment, and that was hard for me.

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I really didn't know how to put

in boundaries for myself and.

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I think the biggest kinda learning for

myself coming out of the, through this

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whole experience was we don't talk about

it like I was okay at work 'cause kind

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of my child was outta sight, outta mind.

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I knew my mom was taking care of

him, but we're also expected to work.

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Like we don't have children and parent,

like we don't have full-time jobs.

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And I was really struggling because.

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At work, no one talked about what

they were doing once they got home.

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And I knew, I worked with

a lot of female leaders.

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They were all also working moms, but

they didn't talk about that second

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shift and how were they grocery shopping

and how were they making dinner?

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And you know, yes, maybe their kids

were older at that time, but I really

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didn't know how to do the, being

a parent, being a mom, part of it.

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But luckily I did have, um, a

group of other mom friends who I

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worked with, and we all had babies

within four months of each other.

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So that was really helpful because

they ended up being my support network.

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They were my group who I could

text in the middle of the night

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to be like, what is going on?

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Why is he still crying?

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What does he eat now that he's,

you know, six months old and

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we're supposed to start solids?

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So I really needed that

community and I felt it was very.

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Um, disconnected.

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Yes, I had this working mom group

within my company, but I still had

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to look elsewhere for some of the

mom support, and I really struggled

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with integrating everything together

because I just felt like at work

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everyone said they were fine, but.

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We never talked about the real

struggles of being a working

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parent, and that transition was

very, very challenging for me.

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And like I said, 14 months after

I had my son, I had twin girls,

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so I was thrown into this again.

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And this time I had a little bit

more wherewithal about how to

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kind of manage this struggle.

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And I did move into a different role

that didn't have me online at eight

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or 9:00 PM So that helped and I was

able to talk to my manager about it.

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But, um.

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This is all kind of what inspired me

to want to help working moms because

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I do believe that working moms, I

want people to go up the ladder.

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I want them to be leaders in our society.

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But I've seen so many women

throughout the years have to hold

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themselves back, or during COVID,

they all left the workforce because.

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Our society isn't built for working

moms, and I want to give them

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inspiration and hope and let them

know that, you know, we don't have

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to hustle, we don't have to burn out.

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And I can share a little bit more about

when I finally did burn out, but I'll

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say in those first couple of years

when I had the kids and I had my mom

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helping, I was just, I was on that

hamster wheel and I was struggling every

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day, but at the same time, I, I hadn't

gotten to that place of, of burnout yet.

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So that's a little bit about my story

and why I started my podcast, which

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is called, this is How She Does It.

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I love that and I, I listened to

your story about burnout and your

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jour, our journeys feel very similar.

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Um, I burned out in 2022 and

I just felt like, doesn't

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anybody notice what's happening?

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erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

And I would say things and I was like.

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Is anybody gonna help me?

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My daughter is 11 now, but it started

during the pandemic and it was really

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like things were much harder and for some

reason things that we thought, like there

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were things that were just sort of, we

were piecing together because we were both

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working, but then when we were all home

at the same time and having to school and

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take care of the kid and like it was just.

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Things came up in the surf bubble

to the surface that I didn't

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even realize would be there.

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And it just, the support that they

were saying we were getting at work

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did not feel like support at all.

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And so I really connected with your

story and putting everyone first

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seems to be a common experience

for so many women I work with.

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we tend to forget about.

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You know, the most important

person, I've been talking a lot

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lately about like the oxygen mask

put on your own oxygen mask first.

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generally we put on 31 oxygen masks

before we ever think about our own.

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So,

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angela_1_10-28-2025_130739:

Yeah, absolutely.

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erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

about your burnout journey

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and however you wanna.

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angela_1_10-28-2025_130739: Yes.

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Well, thanks for asking.

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So very similar to you, it was during

COVID where I couldn't keep all these

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balls up in the air anymore and I

really felt the weight and that pressure

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and, and that's that time where I was

like, okay, something needs to change.

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Something needs to be different.

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So I will set kind of

backing up a tiny bit.

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My twin girls were like two and a half.

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So I was finally at a point

where I was like, okay, they're,

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they're bigger now and I can

start taking care of myself again.

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So I started going to the gym.

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I started just like finding

little pockets of time.

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'cause I had always recognized that

I needed to do my own self-care.

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And so this was the first opportunity for

me to be like, okay, like I, I can start.

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You know, doing a little bit

more of that self care now.

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And so that was like probably in

the summer of:

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into an exercise routine, but then,

you know, now fast forward six

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months later and now we're in 2020.

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Um, world shuts down in March of

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I will say my husband and I were

both working full-time corporate

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jobs and I had a very wonderful

and understanding manager.

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And so this was in the early, early

days where no one knew what was

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going on and we just kind of had to

piece it together and figure it out.

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And so for me and my husband,

we kind of figured it out.

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A, a schedule where if he had a

nine o'clock meeting, then I would

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do the 10 o'clock meeting and my

kids were still so young, so I

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couldn't put them in front of a tv.

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I couldn't like let them just.

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Hang out by themselves.

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Like a parent had to physically

be in the room with them.

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So I felt like I was running a preschool.

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But he would go upstairs, he

would take his call and then he

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would come down and I would run

upstairs and I would take my call.

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And this was the first time where

I could actually set boundaries.

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'cause if you remember, if you

could rewind back to when I.

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First became a working mom.

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I really had no idea how to

put boundaries in for myself.

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It was just not something I'd

ever thought about before.

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But this is the first time where

I was like, it is lunchtime.

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I need to stop work.

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I need to make food for my kids.

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I need to feed them, and I

also need to feed myself.

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So I didn't feel any guilt around.

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It was the first time where I

didn't feel guilty because I had

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to literally like feed my kids.

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During that COVID spring and

summer like this is when my

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kids learned to ride bikes.

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We would go outside and I would just.

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Had the opportunity for the first time

ever to really like be present with them.

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My husband and I would take walks and

when the kids were napping, 'cause they

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were still doing a morning nap and an

afternoon nap, but this was when we

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could really like, focus our time and

energy, get the emails, get the work done.

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So we actually, during those early

years, as crazy as it was and as crazy

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as the sound, I kind of figured out

a, a pretty good work-life balance.

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It was still hard and it

was still challenging.

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But I think it was the first time

I realized I could actually say

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no to things and not feel guilty

about it and be like, okay, work.

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I'll come back to you when I'm ready.

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Pretty.

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I really need to like,

take care of my kids.

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They need to run outside.

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Then now they're a napping.

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So now I can come back

and, and do some work.

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So now you fast forward into fall

of:

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starting to open back up again.

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And so luckily we were able to get our

kids into, um, one preschool together.

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So it was like for the first time

ever, they had one drop off and

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to my husband and I would drop

them off in the morning and.

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Literally we would come back home, sit

in front of our computers and I would

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barely get up because now we've been

in COVID for a little while, like,

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no, you know, now we're fully remote.

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No one knows when offices

are gonna open back up.

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Like luckily, schools have

kind of opened back up.

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But now my work environment had changed

and I was in back to back meetings from

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the second I sat down at nine o'clock.

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I wouldn't, I would not get up to eat

lunch or make lunch or do anything.

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And sometimes at like three o'clock my

husband would like throw me a, a Chipotle

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burrito because he had somehow, like an

hour earlier was like, okay, I need to go

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online and like DoorDash, some Chipotle

so we can keep ourselves dead sane today.

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And then by four o'clock we had to

go pick up the kids and then do our

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whole evening routine with them.

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And this is where I really burnt out

because I had forgotten, like I had

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forgotten that I could have this more

like balanced lifestyle with the kids.

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As soon as the kids were out of the

house, I forgot to take care of myself.

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I literally was not eating.

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I was not walking outside anymore,

and it was just back on that hamster

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wheel a little bit because the work

environment that I was in became a

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little toxic because we were all like

trying to figure out this new normal.

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And so like literally you were late

to your next meeting because like your

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meetings, just one meeting ends at

10 and the next meeting starts at 10.

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And so there was like no buffer time.

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So I like barely even got

up to go to the bathroom.

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It was ridiculous.

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Yeah.

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And so this is when I was like, oh gosh,

like I don't, I don't know what to do.

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I cannot continue to

operate like this anymore.

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And this is where I had to, again,

consciously make those efforts to

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say, I'm gonna go for a walk, even

if it's like 10 minutes outside.

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I need to block my calendar.

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I own my calendar.

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I cannot just allow people to dump

all these meetings on my calendar and

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not have any boundaries for myself.

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Right?

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Like the only two boundaries I had

during those early days was I gotta

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get the kids to daycare and I have

to go pick 'em up at four o'clock.

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And so I slowly had to reteach myself

to put in boundaries, make sure I was

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taking care of myself, make sure I was

eating, make sure I was going outside.

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And part of this time period was also

when I started dis um, discovering

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or going through my own personal

development journey because I, I

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was at a point where I was like,

what am I doing all of this for?

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I had checked off all the.

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Boxes that someone says you

need to be successful in life.

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And I recognize the reason why I

couldn't hold these boundaries for

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myself is because I, I had a lot

of like low self-esteem and low

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self-worth issues that didn't really

come up until this point when A, the

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world has shut down and there's no

other distractions to figure out.

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And this is where.

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So my son is probably about five at

this point where I kind of felt this

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like intuition, this niggle within me

to be like, remember, you really want

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to do something to help working woman.

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Like you really need

to help yourself first.

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And once you can figure

that out, you can help.

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Spread that message with others.

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And so that's when I first had the idea

of doing the podcast and trying to ask

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the universe like, what is my mission?

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What is my purpose?

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And so at first it was like, how

can I figure this out for myself?

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And then maybe coach other women?

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But I knew because I was still in a

corporate job, I ended up, um, only

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launching the podcast earlier this year.

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So it was something that's been

on my heart for over four years to

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do, and the timing hadn't really

worked out until now, but that was

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a time where I truly burned out.

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And it was also where I started.

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You know, doing some meditation, really

connecting back with my intuition, and

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also about the time that I, I learned

about my own Human Design, which is

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also what kind of helped me reframe

some of the limiting beliefs I had.

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Remember my own innate superpowers and

pull myself out of this like hamster

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wheel of just living for everyone else.

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erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

Mm-hmm.

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Wow.

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I, I know so many people

are like, I, I feel you.

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I feel that the, it's, it's so

interesting how we went from

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this, this like, you know, it was

okay to take care of your kids.

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That was a boundary that,

that we was respected to.

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I remember those back to

back to back meetings and it

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was like, what are we doing?

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We didn't, I had never had so many

meetings in my entire life, my entire

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career, and we were just going and going

and going and like nobody thought about.

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I finally, I remember putting

lunch on my calendar and I remember

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getting questioned about it.

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I was like, I need to eat.

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At the library, we got an hour for

lunch, and I was going to claim that

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back, but it, it was, it was hard.

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So you've talked a little bit about

what you started to do, so meditation

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and um, other things that you did.

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So what are things that you did to support

yourself, but also that you've continued

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to support yourself through this journey?

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Is there anything new you've tried?

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angela_1_10-28-2025_130739: Yeah, so I

think what was missing in my life before

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or when I was stuck in this cycle is that

I wasn't doing any anything for myself.

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And I will say when I.

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First went through my motherhood journey.

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I had seen other friends, um,

have kids, and I remember very

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consciously being like, I'm not

gonna lose myself in this process.

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And I, at the time, I didn't really

know what that meant, but I remember

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feeling like I still want to be me.

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And so even when the kids

were really little, I would

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still go out with girlfriends.

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I would still like.

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Find those opportunities and

times to be away from the kids.

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And my husband has always been

very, very supportive of that.

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And he's the one who actually like

pushes me out the door and be like, go

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out to dinner, go do something else.

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So I always did, was able to kind

of maintain this sense of self.

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But I think what I wasn't

doing during this COVID time of

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burnout was like fueling my soul.

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Like it's one thing to just like

go out and hang out with friends,

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but I, it didn't feel like more

fulfilled and purposeful than like,

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I, I just had a nice dinner out.

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Right?

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And so I think that is all very

important and we all need to

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have those social connections.

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But I wasn't doing anything that

was like truly lighting me up.

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And now knowing that I'm a Generator.

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I realize like if I don't have that

thing that like truly lights me up and

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gets me excited, then the rest of my

energy is depleted because I just kind of

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have nothing to, to feel excited about.

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And so I, I started really tuning

into my intuition and following

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these breadcrumbs a little bit more

around like what is popping up and

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what are some of those, themes that

are consistently coming up for me.

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So one thing was like before COVID

happened, I started this yoga practice

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as I was saying, and I met this, um,

teacher, I guess, and he, I remember.

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And he would do like meditation

classes in a corporate environment.

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And it was like me and one

other lady, because that was

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kind of weird at the time.

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And even I felt very weird being like,

I'm gonna do a meditation during the

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lunch hour in this giant conference room.

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And there's three of us.

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But I remember him saying, our world is

out of balance right now and we are moving

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too fast, like things will slow down.

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And I was like, whatcha talking about?

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I guess like six months later,

COVID happened and the world

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:

slowed down and I, I texted him.

351

:

I was like, you were exactly right.

352

:

Like, we didn't know what was

gonna happen, but I, I had no idea.

353

:

Like, I could not understand what

you were saying six months ago and

354

:

you, it like came true, like you

predicted this and that's where like

355

:

the world of spirituality kind of, it

opened up my eyes because I started

356

:

following like these spirituality

groups on Facebook and then I.

357

:

Um, saw stuff about the Akashic

records come up, and so I was

358

:

like, oh, that's interesting.

359

:

What is that?

360

:

So I took like a little mini course to

learn more about the Akashic records,

361

:

and for those who don't know what the

Akashic records is, it's basically

362

:

like imagine a library of all the

thoughts, feelings, and experiences of

363

:

your soul, like past life experiences

as well, and through these little like

364

:

things that just felt exciting to me.

365

:

'cause I have that sacral response and

I, I can't explain why or how, but I

366

:

was like, oh, this sounds interesting.

367

:

And so I would like pay for this

class and then I would, um, I took

368

:

this class and I was like, huh, I'm

still like, kind of struggling with.

369

:

Figuring out this whole

Akashic records thing.

370

:

And then I met another woman who

read my records and then I was like,

371

:

I feel like this is something that

I should be doing too, or I can do.

372

:

So she mentored me and helped

me open up my Akashic records.

373

:

And then she was like, I think you

should, you can do this for other people.

374

:

And again, I like, I can't

even explain it, but when she.

375

:

Took me through the Akashic records

my first time and helped me open

376

:

this up for myself and others.

377

:

It wasn't like she taught me anything.

378

:

It was like I remembered how to do

something like my soul remembered.

379

:

How to tap into the Akashic records,

which isn't something I had done on this

380

:

earthly plane right in, in this lifetime.

381

:

But I really was able to connect,

to my soul in a different way.

382

:

And this was lighting me up so much.

383

:

It gave me something else.

384

:

Like, you can do the meditations and

you can walk in nature and you can do an

385

:

exercise routine and those are all things

that we, we should do for our mental

386

:

health, our physical health, but somehow

my soul was like craving something else.

387

:

And so the Akashic records, one thing

led to another, and then I did find out

388

:

about Human Design and got an initial

reading with a woman and I had shared

389

:

on the podcast that you had listened to.

390

:

It just cracked me open to a whole

different level of she saw me.

391

:

In a way no one else had ever seen

me, and she could identify that I was

392

:

a people pleaser and that I really

did not know how to hold boundaries.

393

:

And I have an open heart center and

I have like no willpower on my own.

394

:

And everything she said

resonated with me so deeply.

395

:

And because I'm also a 1/3.

396

:

So the 1 line is all about research.

397

:

She had also told me like, I don't feel

comfortable unless I know everything.

398

:

Like unless I know everything

about something, then I don't

399

:

feel comfortable sharing it.

400

:

And she was like, but I guarantee you

that you, if you know like 5% more

401

:

than someone else, you, you, you know,

like way more than everyone else.

402

:

Or if you know 5% of that subject,

you know way more than anyone else.

403

:

And so she kind of gave me that confidence

to like really, honor my, my natural

404

:

innate superpowers, which no one's ever

shared that with me on that level before.

405

:

I mean, I've done Myers-Briggs, I've

done Enneagram, and those I always

406

:

like, felt like put me in a box, whereas

Human Design showed me the possibility.

407

:

It showed me the potential.

408

:

And the other thing she had

shared with me was that I have,

409

:

um, a defined throat center.

410

:

I was also a kid who growing up in

a Chinese family where kids were

411

:

basically taught to be seen and

not heard, don't talk back, don't

412

:

question why, like I'm your parent.

413

:

I shut down my throat center from

and voice at a very, very young age.

414

:

I did not talk in school.

415

:

I, I, I could do my work, I could get

perfect grades, uh, by doing the work,

416

:

but I never participated in class.

417

:

I never raised my hand.

418

:

I was petrified of

everything like the judgment.

419

:

Being a perfectionist , and when she

told me I had a defined throat center,

420

:

it really changed how I saw myself.

421

:

And then I worked on that piece

that how do I express myself through

422

:

my voice and the fact that I.

423

:

Started this podcast earlier this

year is really a testament of the

424

:

work that I've done to overcome a

lot of these limiting beliefs that

425

:

I've held onto since childhood.

426

:

So I guess that was a, a long and

meandering way of answering your question.

427

:

But I think beyond just the physical

things like exercising and going for

428

:

walks in nature, I think what I needed

to do was find that thing that really.

429

:

My energy and connected with my soul,

and that's what got me outta that burnout

430

:

mode because I wasn't doing anything that

was like lighting me up from that energy.

431

:

erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

Oh, I have, I have chills.

432

:

'cause the.

433

:

When I learned about human, I learned

about Human Design through my therapist

434

:

angela_1_10-28-2025_130739: Oh, okay.

435

:

erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

some of the same walls as I was

436

:

healing through burnout from burnout.

437

:

And she was like, I just want you

to go look up your Human Design.

438

:

And I was like.

439

:

Is this like eat right

for your blood type?

440

:

What?

441

:

And I, it's like you, I

had never felt so seen.

442

:

I am a 5/1, so I need to investigate

a lot of things and I will dig.

443

:

I, there's kind of a joke that

like I have never met a rabbit

444

:

hole that I didn't love to go down.

445

:

Um, but if I just found everything

I could on the internet and like.

446

:

I had never felt so seen.

447

:

I remember sitting at the public service

desk with tears in my eyes because I

448

:

was like, my gosh, this system gets

me in a way that like, like you, the

449

:

me, Myers-Briggs and the Enneagram.

450

:

I was like, I don't fit that.

451

:

I don't feel like I fit that.

452

:

And that was really big.

453

:

StrengthsFinder was also big

at our library, but I never

454

:

felt like I fit into it.

455

:

And Human Design was like.

456

:

You don't fit into anything.

457

:

This is just like reintroducing

you to who you are.

458

:

And I love that you say that the

Akashic records was about like

459

:

remembering ourselves and I feel

the same way about Human Design.

460

:

Like I remember who I was born to be and I

just, it, I just get such chills listening

461

:

to you and I find it interesting that

you also have an undefined will center.

462

:

also that defined throat center.

463

:

'cause I see people who, I have an

undefined throat center and like

464

:

learning to speak from experience

has been a real learning experience

465

:

for me and that's part of the reason

I did, I started my podcast and so I

466

:

love that you have found that Throat

center to be a source of empowerment.

467

:

To now be speaking in a way that

you didn't before and, you talked

468

:

about on your podcast about, I

think you just mentioned it, like,

469

:

you know, being seen and not heard.

470

:

And so tell me a little bit more about

this, like tapping into that throat center

471

:

and like what has made things different

for you, even in addition to the podcast.

472

:

angela_1_10-28-2025_130739:

Oh, that's a great question.

473

:

Um, so I have that channel that's

called Freak to Genius, and I.

474

:

And so I remember telling people who have

looked at my Human Design being like, I, I

475

:

just don't want people to think I'm weird.

476

:

If I tell 'em about Human

Design or ACIC records, they're

477

:

just gonna think I'm weird.

478

:

And, and these Human Design readers

are like, honey, you are weird.

479

:

Like, you just gotta own it.

480

:

You have the freak to genius.

481

:

And so another thing I've shared

is, um, when I'm in conviction

482

:

and Julie, our our, um.

483

:

Our teacher, our Human Design teacher,

484

:

erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

Mm-hmm.

485

:

angela_1_10-28-2025_130739: talks

about having conviction, right?

486

:

And so when I have conviction and I'm

in the right mind space and I'm with the

487

:

right audience, what I will say is genius.

488

:

So hopefully your audience

who's already a little familiar

489

:

with, um, Human Design will.

490

:

Our conversation is genius, right?

491

:

But if we were in a different environment,

if people aren't, aren't open to hearing

492

:

what we're talking about, I'm gonna

come off as a weird freak and for so

493

:

long, like I shared, because the other

parts of my Human Design, I've just

494

:

been, it's easier for me to stay quiet.

495

:

Right, because I, I

didn't want that judgment.

496

:

I, I lived a life of always needing

external validation for everything.

497

:

And it was partly these, um,

limiting beliefs that, that

498

:

came up during childhood.

499

:

So one story that I share is how, when I

was like about four years old, I'm just

500

:

coloring away on my, um, coloring book.

501

:

It was like, I remember very vividly,

it was a snow white coloring book.

502

:

And my mom came and sat down

at the table next to me and she

503

:

was like, oh, Angela, you did.

504

:

You're doing this all wrong.

505

:

You can't just scribble around.

506

:

You can't color outside the lines.

507

:

You need to be nice and neat, and you have

to keep everything nicely and neatly in

508

:

the lines, and you colored this apple.

509

:

Black apples are not black, they're red.

510

:

So you did this all wrong.

511

:

You know, like a 4-year-old, you

could feel that disappointment.

512

:

Oh my goodness, like I

did everything wrong.

513

:

My mom's not happy with me.

514

:

And from then on I had to perform.

515

:

I had to be a little perfectionist.

516

:

I had to, um, seek external

validation for everything.

517

:

And that's when my voice, my throat

shut down, and I no longer could

518

:

trust myself and my own intuition.

519

:

And.

520

:

And I think it was all of that,

like, growing up, it served me well.

521

:

'cause I got good grades.

522

:

I went to the good schools.

523

:

I, like I said, I, I checked all the

boxes of what you're supposed to check

524

:

in life to say you're successful.

525

:

Um, but it, it just, you know, I

got to a certain point in my late

526

:

to mid or yeah, late thirties where

I'm like, is this all there is?

527

:

Like, why do I still feel so empty?

528

:

And learning my Human Design is what

gave me that power to say, these are

529

:

innate strengths that I have shut down.

530

:

So what can I do to heal those limiting

beliefs and remember who I truly am?

531

:

And it was all of that internal

work, really like digging in,

532

:

doing subconscious, um, work.

533

:

To reconnect with my inner

child and heal these like deeply

534

:

rooted and seated thoughts in

my head and say, no, it's okay.

535

:

I, I can share my voice.

536

:

Like I'm not gonna get struck down

by lightning, which growing up it was

537

:

ob obviously easier to stay quiet,

but the more that a, I was able to,

538

:

study and understand and have

a solid foundation of my work.

539

:

Like at work, you know, I saw people

get promoted and I wasn't, and

540

:

they would always say, well, you

need to speak up more in, in work

541

:

and let people know that you're a.

542

:

Thinking or that you have

something meaningful to share.

543

:

But it felt so awkward and out place.

544

:

But once I had a better understanding

of the business or whatever we

545

:

were working on, then I felt more

comfortable sharing my voice.

546

:

And then once I did that

more often, I internally.

547

:

Kind of shifted how I saw myself

and could see myself as a more

548

:

competent and successful marketer.

549

:

And now I'm in a place where

other people recognize that.

550

:

But it, it took a while for me to get

there and really trust that like if I say

551

:

something or ask that stupid question,

no one's gonna like kill me, which

552

:

is really how my body felt when I was

younger because I, I, I never learned to.

553

:

Overcome that as a child, and so I

didn't get to do it until I was in my

554

:

thirties in a, in a more meaningful way.

555

:

erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

Mm-hmm.

556

:

And talk to me a bit about.

557

:

talked about being a people pleaser

and like with the will center of the

558

:

shadow is like needing to feel like

you need to prove your worth, and

559

:

angela_1_10-28-2025_130739: Yeah.

560

:

erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

feel so deeply when I do

561

:

a workshop with people.

562

:

I say, how many of you have ever felt

like you need to prove your worth?

563

:

And like this is the story of your life?

564

:

And I can always tell from the

hands that go up, like, who

565

:

has an undefined will center?

566

:

And then I, I say like,

look at your chart.

567

:

And they're like, yep, that's me.

568

:

tell me a little bit more about that.

569

:

And then also you

mentioned being a sacral.

570

:

Authority.

571

:

Correct.

572

:

angela_1_10-28-2025_130739: Yes.

573

:

erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

So talk about like how your

574

:

decisions have changed also as

575

:

human Design.

576

:

angela_1_10-28-2025_130739:

Yeah, so I think, so I have a

577

:

completely open will center, which

578

:

erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

Same.

579

:

angela_1_10-28-2025_130739: means that

this is like the biggest challenge

580

:

that we have to overcome in our own

life, through our own experiences.

581

:

And, but on the opposite end of it, once

we master this for ourselves, this is the

582

:

greatest gift that we can give others.

583

:

So that's what I see for myself.

584

:

All the story I've told you about.

585

:

Being four years old, um, and having to

prove myself to, you know, not getting

586

:

promoted and, and having managers

basically tell me I need to speak up

587

:

more, and feeling very awkward and,

and making that very hard for me.

588

:

I realized that the biggest

lesson I had to learn is that

589

:

I am worthy just the way I am.

590

:

I don't have to prove myself.

591

:

I think this so, my husband

and I are both generators.

592

:

My twin girls are generators, but my son

is a projector and this is like, this is I

593

:

think what kind of helped come full circle

for me once I learned the Human Design

594

:

within our family, because my husband and

I grew up being very performative, right?

595

:

Like having to prove our worth.

596

:

He has a different childhood and

background than me, but we both are

597

:

very similar in people pleasing,

having to prove our worth, get needing

598

:

and seeking external validation

for someone to pat me on the on the

599

:

back and say, good girl, you did it.

600

:

You earned this.

601

:

And then I can feel good about myself.

602

:

Mm-hmm.

603

:

And so my son is a projector and.

604

:

My husband at first was

like, ah, he's just so lazy.

605

:

He just wants to do the shortcuts.

606

:

He never wants to work.

607

:

And then the more I learned about his

Human Design, I was like, well, actually,

608

:

he's not meant to work the way we are.

609

:

Like we have this sacral consistent

sacral energy that makes us like

610

:

crazy overachievers, but

he, he doesn't have that.

611

:

And the biggest thing that he's here

to teach us is unconditional love,

612

:

that we can love him just for being,

not because of what he's doing.

613

:

And for my husband and I, that,

that was a big aha moment for us

614

:

to, because, so my husband was like

a big soccer player growing up.

615

:

He did very, very well in soccer

and he did get hurt, so he

616

:

didn't make it like too high up.

617

:

But I think having his first born son

like that was a love and passion of his.

618

:

He still has that love and passion and

not to be able to connect with his son

619

:

on that, I think was very hard for him.

620

:

And so we, we had to have a lot of

conversations about, okay, well he

621

:

clearly is not a soccer player our son.

622

:

So he was like, well, I

just have to lower, like not

623

:

even lower my expectations.

624

:

He was like, I just can't have any

expectations of him because he's

625

:

just like such a different child.

626

:

And I was like, but do you

But can you lower your ex?

627

:

Or, I don't think lowering or not having

expectations is a good place to be either.

628

:

But I was like, can you still love

him if he's not a soccer player?

629

:

Right.

630

:

And my husband's like, of course I'll

always love him 'cause he's my son.

631

:

And I think like having these types of

conversations, because as parents you

632

:

put like so much projection on your

kids, all the things that you didn't

633

:

get as a child, you want your kids to

exemplify that or have that experience.

634

:

And so this being a parent is another

thing that just cracked me open and just

635

:

made me reflect on my own childhood.

636

:

And so for us, we recognized we

didn't have to keep pushing him to.

637

:

Go play with the other kids.

638

:

If you want to sit and observe,

that's okay, because that's

639

:

just how his energy is.

640

:

erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

Mm-hmm.

641

:

angela_1_10-28-2025_130739: he never, he

is, we tried many, many times, the kid's

642

:

not ever, ever gonna be a soccer player.

643

:

But this fall, my husband put him

into tackle football and for him,

644

:

this is the perfect sport for him.

645

:

I saw him come alive this year because.

646

:

He needs that short burst.

647

:

Like just go tackle that guy.

648

:

You do it for 30 seconds and then

you can break for like three minutes.

649

:

You know, like it's not soccer.

650

:

You gotta run up and down the field.

651

:

He, he just doesn't have that energy,

but he can tackle someone to the ground

652

:

in your 30 seconds and he just like,

never had that type of sport before.

653

:

And now, and he's fourth grade,

so he's joining his team.

654

:

Never played football

before or tackle football.

655

:

And most of the other kids have

been playing at least like flag

656

:

football for a couple years.

657

:

So he was one of like three or four

kids who were new to the football team.

658

:

And once his team recognized his skill,

right, and really encouraged him,

659

:

he's finally being invited, which is

660

:

erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

Yeah.

661

:

angela_1_10-28-2025_130739:

the strategy for projectors.

662

:

You need to feel invited, you

need to wait for that invitation,

663

:

which he never had like.

664

:

In soccer, he's just like

lost among the crowd.

665

:

Like he just sat on the

sideline most of the game.

666

:

No one's recognizing him.

667

:

He is not meaningfully contributing to

the team and then he just feels terrible

668

:

about himself and thinks he is a bad

athlete, which he's not a bad athlete,

669

:

but he is not a good soccer player.

670

:

I think we just need to like

671

:

erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

Yeah.

672

:

angela_1_10-28-2025_130739:

to terms with that, but he.

673

:

This year and football, it just ended.

674

:

It's only like two and a

half months the season.

675

:

But he came alive this year

and as a mom, I felt so, um.

676

:

I don't even know what a word is, but

just so filled up by seeing my child

677

:

who has never been an athlete now being

accepted and recognized and feels like

678

:

he's part of this football team because

they recognize his contribution and

679

:

it has just helped his self-esteem

soar so much, which is amazing.

680

:

Like maybe a little too much because

now he thinks he is like ready for

681

:

the NFL, which he's not yet, but, but

he's never had that before because.

682

:

We, because now that I know he's a

projector, I know how to give him those

683

:

opportunities and we know, and we can

just recognize and love him for who he

684

:

is and not like pushing him to do soccer

just because my husband did soccer.

685

:

And so I know you talk a lot

about how understanding, um.

686

:

Human Design and relationships and other

members of your family has been huge,

687

:

and this has been like one of the most

eye-opening experiences for me because

688

:

it finally allowed through our son, my

husband, and I to recognize for ourselves.

689

:

We don't need to prove ourselves

anymore either because we

690

:

know that we can love our son

unconditionally just for who he is.

691

:

Now we can turn that mirror back

on ourselves and recognize we don't

692

:

need to burn out, we don't need

to continue work or whatever, and

693

:

keep people pleasing because we

can love ourselves just the way we.

694

:

Oh, I love that story about your son.

695

:

That's just amazing, especially

the projector being recognized

696

:

for his contributions.

697

:

so.

698

:

Powerful.

699

:

erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

And I'm sure as a mom that just, I

700

:

mean, I'm, I'm getting teary, teary

eyed, listening to you and I just,

701

:

oh, I love that so much for you.

702

:

I'd love that so much for

your kid and your family.

703

:

angela_1_10-28-2025_130739: Thank you.

704

:

erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

So Angela, it has been such

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a pleasure to talk to you.

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I love hearing your story and your Human

Design journey, and so where can people

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find you and to learn more about you?

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angela_1_10-28-2025_130739: Yeah, so

my podcast is called, "This is How She

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Does It", and you can find it on Apple.

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Spotify and I also right now have

a free masterclass on my website.

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So it's AngelaLeecoaching.com/masterclass.

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And this masterclass is for

these, um, high achieving,

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um, high achieving woman who.

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Feel burnt out, and I, so

I take you through how your

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Human Design can help you.

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Understanding your Human Design can

help you get out of burnout mode.

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So I really talk about the be, do, have

success formula that again, our teacher,

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uh, Julie Ciardi talks a lot about.

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And so I kind of walk people through how

can we reframe what success means to us?

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Like I said.

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Uh, I, for a long time thought success

meant checking all those boxes, getting

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the good grades, getting into good school,

buying the house, having the kids on the

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picket fence, and when I felt so burnt

out and lonely and like looking for

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that deeper soul connection and started

doing this work on myself shifting.

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And really encompassing that be,

do, have framework has really helped

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me overcome my burnout struggle.

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So it's a free masterclass where,

um, I kind of take you through that.

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And I know you also help your

clients with Human Design, but this

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could be another way to kind of

another angle to view Human Design.

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So I'll share all those, uh,

links with you if you wanna

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share that with your audience.

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erica-voell--she-her-_1_10-28-2025_120739:

They all the links will be in the show

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notes to the show and to the masterclass.

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So thank you Angela, for

being my first guest.

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This was such an honor,

and we will talk to you

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. angela_1_10-28-2025_130739:

Thank you, Erica.

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If you enjoyed this episode, I

would love it if you would tap the

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plus sign to follow the show so

you don't miss what's coming next.

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And if you're feeling generous,

leave me a quick review that

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helps other people find Unfolding.

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I would be so grateful for your support.

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It means the world.

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:

If there's someone in your life

who you know would love these

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conversations, please share

it with a friend or colleague.

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:

Thanks for being here.

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Be well and I'll see you next time.

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About the Podcast

Unfolding: Audio Letters from the Middle of Becoming
Hosted by Erica Voell

What if midlife wasn’t a crisis… but an invitation?

Each week, Erica Voell, a Confidence & Well-Being coach and Human Design Guide shares honest audio letters from the middle of becoming—reflecting on self-trust, Human Design, motherhood, identity shifts, and the messy beauty of figuring it out as you go.

If you’ve ever felt stuck between who you’ve been and who you’re becoming… if you’re learning to say no to what drains you and yes to yourself… if you’re craving grounded, thoughtful reflection that doesn’t come with a 10-step plan—this is for you.

About your host

Profile picture for Erica Voell

Erica Voell


I use tools like Human Design, coaching, and
Reiki to help women in midlife say no to what
drains them—because they trust their decisions
and understand their unique strengths.

Together, we clear old patterns, and they learn
how they’re designed to make confident decisions
and start putting themselves first.