What if the career that looked right on paper was quietly draining you — and the one you almost overlooked turned out to be exactly where you were meant to be?

Family mediator and restorative justice practitioner Rosemary Gattuso joins Serena to share the pivotal moment she walked away from legal practice and into mediation — not out of failure, but out of a growing self-awareness that law amplified her weaknesses, while mediation brought her natural strengths to life.

This conversation is for anyone who has ever felt slightly out of place in their career, struggled with an inner critic that just won't quieten, or found themselves caring for someone they love while quietly losing pieces of themselves in the process.

Rosemary introduces her signature what's wrong vs. what's strong framework — a deceptively simple lens that cuts through self-judgement and reorients how we think about mistakes, setbacks and personal growth. When we see a misstep through the "what's wrong" lens, we spiral into shame. When we shift to "what's strong," the same moment becomes a question: What have I learned? What could I do differently?

She also opens up about a deeply personal chapter — caring full-time for both ageing parents — and the conflicting emotions that rarely get named: love and resentment, devotion and grief, gratitude and guilt. Her upcoming second book offers language and tools for navigating exactly that.

In this episode:

• Why aligning your career with your strengths changes more than just your work
• How to become your own internal mediator and shift out of chronic self-criticism
• The emotional contradictions of caregiving — and how to hold them with compassion
• Practical advice for quiet achievers whose deep analysis tips into overthinking
• How to know when you're out of balance — and what to do about it

Resources Mentioned:

Rosemary's first book, It's Not You, It's Me, is available at her website https://www.rosemarygattuso.com and online.

Carer Gateway - an Australian Government program providing free services and support for carers.

Work with Serena

If you’re an introverted woman leader ready to become more visible and influential without performing extroversion, I invite you to apply for a SEEN Executive Calibration. 45 minutes via Zoom. Diagnostic, not selling. Root causes, not symptoms.

Apply HERE.

Work with Serena Low at serenalow.com.au.

Loved this episode? Leave a review to help other Quiet Warriors find the show.

This episode was edited by Aura House Productions