Starting over at 40: Zuraida Jardine’s journey to redefining motherhood and personal growth

MANY women know the feeling of putting themselves last, with careers paused and dreams delayed, passions quietly tucked away until “things feel more stable”.

- VUYILE MADWANTSI

South African well-being expert Zuraida Jardine challenges that narrative in a raw, relatable post about motherhood, education, change and starting again.

Her message is simple but powerful: a woman is allowed to evolve even while her children are watching.

Jardine, a renowned mental performance coach specialising in psychology, functional medicine, neuro-linguistic programming, and breathwork, recently shared an Instagram carousel reflecting on the year she and her daughter started school together.

Her daughter was six, walking into Grade 0. She was 40, walking into a university lecture hall for the first time in decades.

And she didn’t sugarcoat it.

“When my daughter started school, I didn’t just drop her at the gate and drive away to a ‘normal day,’ she wrote.

“I was also packing my own bag, finding my lecture halls, learning how to study again in my 40s.”

For most of her daughter's life, Jardine has managed deadlines, dinner, exams, work and motherhood all at once. She admits it wasn’t perfect, but it was real.

The wellness expert is refreshingly open about the emotional complexity women face when choosing themselves.