What happens when a high-achieving woman checks every box society handed her — only to realize none of it was truly hers? In episode 252 of Joy Found Here, Recalibrate Coaching founder Hema Crockett shares the deeply personal moment that cracked everything open and led her to ask, for the very first time: what do I actually want?

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(01:52) Meet Hema: coach and "recovered HR executive"

(04:45) Growing up between East and West

(06:09) Nearly 20 years in the corporate grind

(07:03) The turning point: living in Kathmandu, Nepal

(10:14) The IVF journey that changed everything

(13:00) How "what do I want?" became Recalibrate Coaching

(18:10) Introducing the Disrupting Default podcast

(21:51) Why awareness, once gained, can't be undone

(27:10) Inside the Recalibrate process: digging, the void, building

(33:23) Recalibration as a lifelong practice

Hema Crockett grew up as the daughter of Indian immigrants in Arizona, straddling Eastern traditions and Western culture — conditioning she didn't recognize until much later. After nearly 20 years as a corporate HR executive in tech and biotech startups, she had the corner office, the stock options, and the title, but felt completely disconnected. The breaking point came during IVF, when she realized mid-transfer that she didn't want children — and her husband, waiting in the car, felt exactly the same. That moment of radical honesty sent her on a years-long journey of unraveling everything she'd been told to want.

In this episode, Hema walks Stephanie through the philosophy behind her coaching practice, Recalibrate, where she works one-on-one with high-achieving women in midlife who have "made it" by every measure but feel unfulfilled. She shares her process of guiding clients from discovery to a conscious "choice point," then into intentionally building a life rooted in desire rather than expectation — no quitting required, just micro-shifts in awareness. She also introduces her new podcast, Disrupting Default, co-hosted with her retired Marine husband, which challenges the everyday autopilot habits we never stop to question.

Connect with Hema Crockett:

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Podcast: Disrupting Default

Let's Connect:

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Unbecoming Everything You Were Told to Be — with Hema Crockett