From Corporate Hustle to Soulful Living: Monika Molander on Finding Peace Beyond Perfection

Monika Molander spent 15 years in high-powered roles at Google, H&M, and Meta, building a successful career in sales and marketing. Yet, despite her achievements, she felt an unsettling emptiness—a sense that the life she was living wasn’t aligned with who she truly was. 

Now a certified life coach, Monika has embarked on a new path, one where self-worth isn’t measured by achievement, but by authenticity, peace, and joy. 

In this Spotlight interview, she shares her personal journey of transformation, the profound challenges she faced, and the unique insights she brings to helping women heal from perfectionism and unhealthy relationships with food.

A Life Defined by Achievement

Monika’s journey begins with a familiar narrative — growing up as a high achiever. “I put so much of my self-worth into what I was doing, and there wasn’t a lot of joy,” she explains. This relentless drive to succeed was shaped by her upbringing as a third-culture child, moving between Finland and Sweden, constantly feeling like she had to prove herself in new environments. After studying business at the Stockholm School of Economics, Monika landed a job at Google, diving headfirst into the tech world. “At the time, big tech was still very romantic to me,” she recalls. "And it was fun, I had the time of my life in Dublin, even if the job was stressful."

Beneath the surface of her success, Monika struggled with mental health challenges that had plagued her since adolescence. “I had had mental health issues since I was 13, partly from moving countries but also from putting so much of my self-worth into achievements,” she reveals. 

Her career was thriving, but her personal well-being was suffering. The pandemic, coupled with a serious hand injury that led to multiple surgeries, forced her to slow down and take stock of her life. “The pandemic made everything quiet down, and I realized I wasn’t living a life I wanted to keep on living for the next 20 years.”

The Dark Night of the Soul

In the depths of her depression, exacerbated by injury and isolation during the pandemic, she faced what she calls the “dark night of the soul.” Her belief system, one that had long been built on trust in institutions, authority figures, and societal norms, began to unravel. 

“I was miserable, not just because of my hand, but because I didn’t want to keep grinding and hustling for other people’s dreams,” Monika admits. 

She was angry — angry at her body for failing her, angry at the world for its injustice, and angry at herself for feeling stuck. “I was angry at doctors, at my background, at why I ended up where I did,” she recalls. Yet, as her old beliefs fell apart, Monika began to see it as a necessary destruction, a freeing process that allowed her to rebuild a life more aligned with her true self. The anger, though painful, pushed her to question everything she thought she knew, leading her to redefine her values and embrace a more authentic way of living. 

“The truth will piss you off at first, but then it will set you free”

she says, reflecting on how that turmoil ultimately led her to a deeper sense of self-awareness and purpose.

The Healing Journey

Knowing that she wanted to step away from the corporate world,  Monika began exploring new paths, including coaching and healing practices. One of the most transformative areas of her journey has been her work with Eating Psychology and Mind-Body Nutrition, a lesser-known approach that challenges traditional views on food, body image, and eating behaviors.

Monika’s own history with disordered eating started in her teenage years and lingered under the surface for much of her adult life. Her certification in Eating Psychology opened her eyes to the profound connection between our emotions, past traumas, and how we relate to food.

“Food is never the problem—it’s the symptom,” Monika explains. “How we eat is a reflection of deeper emotional issues.” Whether it’s emotional eating, binge eating, or obsessing over “healthy” eating, the behaviors around food are often driven by something far more significant than hunger. 

“For instance, emotional eating could be a response to loneliness, where food becomes a source of comfort. It might be the only way you feel safe or connected, especially if you don't have emotionally available parents.”

Eating Psychology delves into how unresolved traumas, unmet emotional needs, and the ways we’ve been conditioned to view food and our bodies can deeply affect our eating behaviors. “Maybe as a child, the only time you felt connected to your family was during meals. Or perhaps food became a way to soothe yourself when you were stressed or anxious. Those patterns get ingrained, and they become a default way of dealing with emotions.”

Monika also touches on a topic many women can relate to — the societal pressure to look a certain way. “Women’s bodies are objectified in a way men’s aren’t, and it’s a collective disease. From a young age, we’re taught to equate our worth with our appearance.” This programming, inherited through generations and reinforced by society, often drives women to engage in harmful eating behaviors. “It’s not just about diet culture; it’s about how deeply rooted our body image issues are. Healing that takes more than just learning to eat intuitively—it requires understanding the emotional and psychological layers that influence our relationship with food.”

Through her coaching, Monika helps women unpack these deeper issues and develop healthier, more compassionate relationships with themselves and their bodies. It’s about moving away from judgment and shame, and instead, asking, “Why am I eating this way? What emotions or traumas are driving these behaviors?”

From Achievement to Joy

A central theme in Monika’s work is helping women move away from achievement-driven self-worth toward a life rooted in joy and purpose. As someone who spent years measuring her value by her success in the corporate world, Monika understands the toll this mindset can take. “We’ve been conditioned to believe that our worth is tied to what we do and how well we do it, but that’s just not true,” she says.

Her coaching encourages clients to redefine achievement, not as a result of fear or a need to prove themselves, but as an expression of their true gifts. “When you’re in alignment with what you really want, achievement becomes a byproduct—it’s no longer the goal,” she explains. “People fear that if they stop being driven by the need to succeed, they’ll become lazy. But when we’re balanced and regulated, we naturally want to contribute to the world.”

Monika’s work is particularly impactful for perfectionists—those who feel they need to excel in every aspect of their lives. “I coach women who are high achievers, but their motivation is fear-based—fear of failing, of not being enough. I help them move toward a motivation based on joy and inspiration.”

Peace in a Fast-Paced World

Since stepping away from her corporate career, Monika has focused on cultivating peace and joy in her everyday life. “It’s a lifelong practice to not get stuck in doing, but in being,” she admits. For her, this means building small moments of mindfulness into her day—whether it’s taking three deep breaths before a meeting or savoring a walk in the morning light.

Instead of obsessing over productivity and efficiency, Monika has embraced a slower, more intentional pace. “I used to believe time was running out, but now I tell myself, ‘I have exactly as much time as I need.’ It’s about focusing on what truly matters and letting the rest go.”

Looking to the Future

As Monika continues her journey, she remains open to where life will take her. She envisions expanding her coaching practice, creating a community to help women discover their authentic self, outside of body image and achievement, and perhaps launching a podcast or writing a book. “I want to share my voice and message, I want to connect with people, and  I also want to engage with my local community. I don’t want to be stuck only in the online world —I think in-person connection is vital.”

Be True to Yourself

Monika Molander’s journey is a powerful testament to the importance of living in alignment with your true self. From the highs of corporate success to the lows of physical and emotional darkness, Monika’s path has been one of profound self-discovery and healing. Through her work in Eating Psychology and life coaching, she’s helping others break free from the chains of perfectionism, heal their relationships with food, and find peace in a world that often demands more than we can give.

Her message is clear: self-worth isn’t something we earn through achievements or external validation—it’s something we carry within us.

Follow Monika on Instagram: @theselflovepath_