How One Decision Redefined Career, Confidence, and Contribution: Dr. Prabha Balasubramaniam’s Journey.
There comes a phase in life when everything appears settled on the outside, yet something within feels quietly unfinished.
For Prabha Balasubramaniam, that phase arrived after becoming a mother of two, while continuing a successful career in dentistry. She was competent, committed, and constantly busy. And yet, unmistakably aware that something deeper was missing.
She did not know exactly what she was looking for. She only knew it was time to pause.
That pause came in the form of attending Make It Happen.
What followed was not a dramatic overnight shift, but a grounded, lasting transformation.
The Starting Point: Success Without Fulfilment
At the time, Prabha was balancing many roles simultaneously.
• Full-time dentist in general practice
• Mother to two young children
• Wife, daughter, and caregiver
• Always responsible. Always needed.
Her children were growing more independent, and for the first time in years, space opened up for an uncomfortable but honest question.
“What do I want to do for me?”
She enjoyed dentistry and was good at it. But it no longer felt deeply fulfilling. Alongside this sat an unspoken belief many women quietly carry.
That motherhood and ambition may not coexist peacefully.
The Invisible Barriers: Beliefs That Limit Us Before Circumstances Do
One of the most powerful shifts did not come from learning something new, but from unlearning what no longer served her.
Through guided reflection, Prabha became aware of two deeply rooted beliefs:
• “I cannot do it all.”
• “I should not want to do it all.”
Ambition, she realised, had quietly been associated with selfishness, ruthlessness, or neglect. Something incompatible with being a nurturing mother.
Make It Happen challenged this false choice: “Ambition was reframed as energy. Not ego.”
Something that could be consciously directed, rather than suppressed.
The Tools That Changed Everything
The impact did not come from motivation alone. It came from structure, space, and repeatable tools.
Measurable Outcomes: What Changed in Real Terms
Within a year of attending the program, tangible changes followed:
Career Transformation
• Resigned from general dental practice
• Transitioned into a niche practice focused on airway dentistry and dental sleep medicine
Professional Growth
Over the following years, alongside work and family life, Prabha:
• Completed two postgraduate diplomas
• Achieved a fellowship in dental sleep medicine
Her work shifted from routine treatment to root-cause healthcare, addressing:
• Sleep apnea
• Snoring
• Jaw and facial pain
• Preventive airway development in children
The result was not just career progression, but purpose.
The Long-Term Shift: Identity Over Circumstance
Four years later, the most significant change is not her title or qualifications.
It is her sense of self.
Prabha describes feeling:
• More grounded, less reactive
• Clear about who she is and what she stands for
• Able to question herself without collapsing into doubt
• Challenges still arise. But they no longer derail her.
She responds from clarity, not confusion.
A Message for Women Standing at Their Own Crossroads
You do not need all the answers before you begin.
Ambition and caregiving are not opposites
Fulfilment and responsibility are not mutually exclusive
Growth does not require abandoning what matters
When you understand yourself more deeply, every role you play improves naturally. Because when you get better, everything connected to you does too.