Having kids changed the way I approach work. I apologize less and have hard stops that are nonnegotiable.

The author, not pictured, changed her approach to work after becoming a mom.

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• In my 20s, I went to the hospital with stomach pain only for the doctors to tell me I was stressed.
• I worked late and on weekends and felt as if I couldn't operate any other way.
• Becoming a mom compelled me to change. I started practicing radical transparency about my needs.

In my 20s, I worked myself to a pulp. It got so bad that I actually ended up in the hospital with severe stomach pain...