Meet Lynsey
Don’t show off. Don’t be too ambitious. Don’t think you’re somebody.
In Ireland, we have a word for someone who thinks a bit too highly of themselves.
We say they have notions.
And it’s rarely said with admiration.
It’s usually said the way you'd say……. infection.
In Ireland, ‘don’t get notions’ is basically a public health policy.
Add a layer of good girl conditioning, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for overthinking: do well in school, be helpful, don’t embarrass yourself.
I followed that script all the way to PhD level out of sheer stubbornness – to prove myself, to be the ‘good girl’. It looked impressive on paper, but it felt hollow.
Dragging myself into the working world, I sat in many open-plan offices thinking, ‘I can’t do this for the rest of my life’. I felt that my soul was being sucked out through my eyeballs.
That experience taught me something I wish more women were told:
I wasn’t broken. The setup was.
In 2011, I heard about coaching - I thought it sounded a bit ‘new age’. But I was curious and signed up for a life coaching course in Dublin, and it changed everything.
I worked with clients in the evenings, tinkered with my website on lunch breaks, and kept learning. Then in 2018, I went full-time as a coach, and swapped the boring job for the messy, mad world of coaching and entrepreneurship.
That taught me something else that’s now at the heart of my work:
You don’t need anyone’s permission to do things your own way.
I’m Lynsey Hanratty, a mindset coach with notions, and I help you develop some too.
Women leave this work and finally mind themselves the way they mind everyone else.
This work is for you if you’re ‘fine’ on the outside, but inside you’re thinking, ‘I can’t keep doing life like this’.
That low-level rage you feel? It makes sense.
A few human facts because you’ve read this far: I drink tea by the gallon, love cheesy 80’s tunes and yacht rock, and I can be a bit sweary when it’s warranted.
Are We a Good Fit?
Your brain won’t switch off. You replay conversations at night. You second-guess yourself. You’re the ‘messy but competent’ one: odd socks, one earring, 27 tabs open, still functioning, but only just.
You’re exhausted juggling work and family from the 6pm email you answered while making dinner to the doctor’s appointments you make for everyone but yourself.
You were taught to be helpful, reliable, invisible.
Now you’re ambitious, capable, and totally wrecked. Most days, you’ve no fucks left to give….
You want someone who won't flinch when you say the quiet part out loud.
I'm not here to hand you a plan and wave you off. I'm here because I know why you keep ending up back where you started.
This works best when you're ready to look at what's actually running the show, not just be handed a system.
How I Work (and why it works!)
'Who minds the capable one?'
It's the question I ask that stops women cold, because the answer (if they're honest) is usually nobody.
The workload matters, but so does the pattern beneath it. The one where you've nearly stopped a hundred times and somehow always end up back where you started.
The productivity industry will hand you another system, while the wellness industry will tell you to rest more. I'll ask you why neither of those has worked yet.
I have a PhD in Medical Microbiology I barely mention and an ICF PCC coaching credential that means I know the difference between a conversation that feels good and one that actually moves something.
Together, we look at what's happening right now: the conversation you keep rehearsing, the decision you've nearly made four times, the ‘situation’ from three months ago you're still replaying at 2am. The mental load you can't put down. The identity built around being the one who copes.
I'm also Mammy to Bowie the Labrador and two punk-rock cats, Sid and Nancy. Not a formal qualification, but it has taught me patience. 😉
Where to Go Next
If you’ve read this and thought, ‘Oh God, I really need this’, there are two ways to start.
Book a Clarity Call
We'll have a proper conversation about the decision you've nearly made four times and what's actually stopping you
Start with the Resentment Audit
See where you are taking on more than your share in my 10-minute Resentment Audit