Join Lisette Schuitemaker and Gill Emslie for the 8th Eldest Daughter Retreat at Findhorn: Leading with Resilience and Ease

We are calling firstborn women of all ages to gather with others who share this particular life path. Firstborn women note how responsibility weighs on them, and how carefree their younger siblings tend to be. From her research done over a decade ago, in The Eldest Daughter Effect, author and co-host Lisette Schuitemaker describes how being the first child in our family shapes us into serious, caring and capable women.

With “responsibility” as our middle name, we quickly find ourselves in positions of leadership in our family, our circle of friends as well as professionally. We love taking charge, and we are inclined to overdo it. We enjoy making sure everyone is well, and we are apt to forget we need support ourselves. So here are some heartfelt questions to ponder:

Is all that I am capable of doing truly mine to do?

How can I take leadership, be available as well as flourish as a person?

What can I delegate so others come into their own?

In our days together, within the beautiful Ecovillage Findhorn community in Scotland, we will move through a process of taking stock of where we are at, identifying what conditioning, belief or behaviour may be let go of, and firming up how we want to re-enter our personal and professional life.

We will explore and celebrate our strengths, our insecurities and our wisdom. Patterns that we recognise in each other will give rise to laughter and tears, and cement the bond of sisterhood. You will leave the circle with a clearer sense of how you manifest leadership in your personal and professional life, and how you can keep the balance.