By: Jessica Parker

As a new year begins, many women feel the familiar pressure to set resolutions, raise expectations, and begin January with flawless commitment. But a growing movement is challenging the perfectionism that has long shaped women’s lives — and at the center of that shift is Marie Smith, founder of Golden Hour Coaching and a nationally recognized women’s leadership coach, Smith has spent years helping high-achieving women break free from the cycle of overwork, self-judgment, and chronic burnout. She has seen firsthand how perfectionism quietly drains women’s energy and convinces them that “not enough” is their default setting.

But according to Smith, the era of the “perfect woman” is ending and a new, more powerful archetype is emerging: the good enough woman.

This woman is not settling.

She is surrendering the impossible in favor of what is sustainable, soulful, and aligned.

“Perfection doesn’t make women stronger,” Smith says. “It makes them smaller. When women let go of perfection, they make room for presence, authenticity, creativity, joy—and real power.”

As more women shift away from performance and toward purpose, Smith believes the new year offers the perfect moment to rethink the cultural rituals that keep women stuck. Instead of rigid resolutions, she recommends practices that support emotional well-being, energy management, and feminine alignment.

Smith’s Seven Essential Steps to Break Free From the Pressure to Be Perfect

Smith shares seven essential practices she teaches her clients to help them step out of perfectionism and into a more grounded, empowered way of living.

1. Start the Day With Intention, Not Your Inbox

Perfectionism keeps women reactive, constantly responding to messages, demands, and expectations. Smith encourages women to begin each morning by asking a single question: “How do I want to feel today?”

This short pause shifts the day from autopilot to intention, helping women lead their mood, their energy, and their choices rather than letting outside forces dictate them.

2. Honor Your Energy Cycles

Smith emphasizes that women’s energy isn’t linear. Emotional load, boundaries, hormones, internal narratives, and even seasons affect how women feel and function.

Smith explains, “Your body is always telling the truth. Tension, heaviness, irritability, resistance, and excitement are all forms of communication.”

Learning to listen and adjust is a key step in releasing the pressure to perform at 100 percent every day.

3. Choose Curiosity Over Judgment

One of the most damaging effects of perfectionism is the self-criticism it fuels. Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with me?”, Smith encourages women to ask: “Is this true, or is it just an old story I’ve been replaying?”

Curiosity interrupts self-judgment, softens shame, and allows women to understand their internal patterns without internalizing them. Over time, this single shift leads to profound emotional freedom.

4. Make Rest a Ritual, Not a Rescue

Rest is often the first thing high-achieving women abandon, and the last thing they give themselves permission to reclaim. Smith teaches that rest is not a luxury, it is a physiological and emotional reset.

Rather than waiting for burnout to force a break, she recommends building small, consistent moments of stillness into the day. Even two to five minutes of intentional rest can calm the nervous system and improve overall clarity.

5. Stop Outsourcing Your Worth

From childhood, women are conditioned to earn their value through productivity, service, achievement, or being “the responsible one.” Smith calls this the trap of externally sourced worth.

“Worthiness isn’t something women need to prove,” she says. “It’s something they need to remember.”

Reclaiming worth from within is one of the most powerful steps in unlearning perfection, and one of the most transformative shifts she sees in her clients.

6. Ask Yourself: Is This a Yes or a No?

Many women say yes out of guilt, habit, obligation, or fear of disappointing others. Smith teaches women to pause and check in with their inner truth.

A genuine “yes” feels expansive, grounded, or clear. A “no” often feels tight, heavy, or draining.

This simple embodied practice helps women reduce overwhelm, make aligned decisions, and take back control of their time and energy.

7. Let Go of the Martyr Badge

Smith notes that many women have been taught, consciously or unconsciously, that self-sacrifice is noble. She calls this “the martyr badge,” a hidden identity that convinces women they must give endlessly and ask for nothing.

But modern research on emotional wellbeing and feminine leadership shows the opposite: women who prioritize themselves are more resilient, more present, and more capable of supporting the people they love.

Smith says, “When women take care of themselves, everyone around them benefits. Self-care isn’t selfish. It’s sacred.”

The Rise of the ‘Good Enough’ Woman

Across Smith’s coaching work, one theme has become clear: women are exhausted by the impossible pursuit of perfection, and they’re ready for something more sustainable and soulful.

The “good enough” woman is intentional rather than idealized. She’s centered rather than stretched thin. Aligned rather than overextended. Present rather than performing.

Most importantly, she is willing to choose herself, not as a last resort, but as a way of life.

A New Path Forward: April 2026 Retreat

For women ready to step into this new, grounded version of themselves, Smith will lead a transformative retreat in April 2026, designed to help participants reconnect with their intuition, restore their energy, and rewrite the rhythms of their lives.

The retreat offers immersive coaching, somatic practices, and restorative experiences that support women in shedding perfectionism and returning to their most authentic, empowered selves.

As Smith notes, “Women don’t need to become more perfect. They need to become more themselves.”

To learn more about the retreat or Smith’s coaching work, visit  Golden Hour Coaching, or contact her directly at marie@goldenhourcoaching.com. She also shares insights and resources on LinkedIn for women seeking community and support on their growth journey.

Marie Smith, M.Ed., CHWC, CLC, CPT, is an international mindset and leadership coach and the founder of Golden Hour Coaching. Known for her work helping women release perfectionism and rediscover their personal power, she leads transformational programs and retreats for women ready to shift from burnout to balance.