Redefining Success: How Motherhood Transforms Ambition and Achievement

"Raising Two, Growing Too" explores the beautiful chaos of parenting kids with an age gap. This column dives into the unique joys, challenges, and life lessons that come with nurturing siblings at different stages of life. Whether you’re a seasoned parent or just starting this journey, this space is for celebrating the everyday triumphs and transformative moments of motherhood.

Success is a moving target, what it meant to me at 32 is vastly different from what it means at 42. A decade apart, not only has the world changed, but I have changed. My priorities, ambitions, and the way I define fulfilment have all evolved, largely shaped by my journey through motherhood.

At 32, as a first-time mother, I was chasing ambition, climbing the corporate ladder, and believing what society had instilled in me, that any pause in my career would set me back. The corporate world, after all, is not particularly kind to women who take breaks. I learned this the hard way when I returned from maternity leave after six months, only to be told by my then-manager that my junior, whom I had trained had replaced me. I was advised to submit my resignation. Just like that, I was expected to step aside because I had chosen to become a mother.

The months that followed were filled with frustration and self-doubt. Finding a new job as a returning mother wasn’t easy. It took resilience, persistence, and a great deal of recalibration before I landed where I truly wanted to be.

Fast forward to my 40s, when I made the decision to have my second child. This time, I was in a completely different headspace. I had built my career, I was in a secure and confident place, and I knew my worth. I was willing to take a break if needed not because I had given up on ambition, but because my definition of success had shifted. I no longer saw success as a purely vertical climb; I now valued lateral growth just as much. The personal growth, the depth of experience, the ability to contribute in ways beyond just a title or a promotion, these became more meaningful to me than simply checking off the next milestone on a corporate roadmap.

With this shift in perspective, I wanted to explore how other mothers define success in their careers. I spoke to three women in different stages of motherhood and professional life, and their insights reinforced the idea that success is deeply personal, ever-evolving, and shaped by our unique experiences as mothers.

Success Beyond the Ladder

Ritcha Verma, co-founder of 11 Eleven Communications, shared how motherhood transformed her professional and personal aspirations. Her first pregnancy wasn’t smooth, and complications during that time led her to quit a job that required a 35-kilometre commute each day. That decision, however, became the foundation for a new beginning. She started blogging in 2009 and explored various roles before establishing her own PR communications firm. Today, she not only manages her agency but also collaborates with her daughter for content creation. 

“I’ve brought my daughter into my world of work,” she said. “Whether it’s travelling for shoots or brainstorming for campaigns, we get to spend time together while pursuing our respective goals.

Motherhood didn’t mean setting aside my ambitions, it just meant finding new ways to incorporate my daughter into them.”

Another mother who has embraced late motherhood while continuing to chase her ambitions is Nivedita Basu, Vice President of Hindi GEC Dangal. For her, success is deeply tied to the identity she has built beyond motherhood.

“I want my daughters to feel incredibly proud of what I have achieved professionally not just know me as their mother, but see me as someone who has carved her own path,” she shared. A recent experience reaffirmed this for her. While on a holiday abroad, people recognized her in a mall and approached her. Seeing the look of pride on her daughter’s face in that moment, she knew that her hard work had meaning beyond just professional success.

Her daughters now seven and three, she remains just as ambitious and aggressive in achieving her goals. Having spent 15 years at Balaji Telefilms, she was accustomed to a fast-paced, high-intensity work environment. So when she had her second baby, she wasted no time in returning to that setting, getting back to work for 8 to 10 hours a day just 22 days after giving birth. For her, it was never about stepping away from motherhood, but about ensuring that her daughters see her as someone who has achieved success as an individual, not just as their mother.

Richa Mukherjee, TED speaker, author, and mentor, brought yet another lens to the conversation. For her, motherhood didn’t change her drive but deepened her confidence and ability to navigate life’s challenges.

“Becoming a parent is transformative in many ways. While it is exhausting and incredibly hard, it also forces you to dig deep into a hidden arsenal of tenacity and courage. Once you’ve experienced the incredible power and vulnerability of motherhood, it changes your lens on the world. You become more confident, more collected, not swayed by the desperation for goals and accolades defined by others, but capable of carving out your own unique path,” she said.

It was truly amazing to have the opportunity to speak with these three incredible mothers and understand their unique perspectives on success and motherhood. Each of their stories highlighted a different way of navigating the delicate balance between ambition, family, and personal fulfilment.

At the end of the day, we’re all moms trying to find that balance in one way or another. each of us charting a course that suits our personal journey best.

In Ritcha’s resilience and reinvention, Richa Mukherjee’s confidence in redefining success, and Nivedita’s relentless pursuit of her ambitions, I saw glimpses of my own motherhood journey at different stages.

Their stories reaffirmed something I’ve come to believe: motherhood doesn’t limit us, it shapes us, challenges us, and ultimately inspires us to grow in ways we never imagined. And in this shared experience of being mothers, we find strength and the courage to embrace our own definitions of success.

Ankita Dhupia, a corporate professional, content creator, and 44-year-old mom of two loves sharing her journey of motherhood and finds joy in expressing herself through writing. Views expressed by the author are their own.