Overthinking Out Loud with Dr. Priyanka Venugopal

Have you ever gotten to the end of a really productive day and still felt like you should have done more? You crossed things off your to-do list, handled what needed to get done, and somehow your brain is already thinking about what else you could accomplish.

In this next episode of my overthinking series, I'm sharing one sentence that sounds like a great work ethic but might actually be costing you more than you realize. It's a belief that earned many of us praise and gold stars growing up, but as overachieving adults, it can make it surprisingly hard to switch off. We're talking about the hidden cost of always doing more, why rest can feel so uncomfortable, and what happens when you start questioning how much is actually enough.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.priyankavenugopal.com/243

Watch my TEDx talk: Overthinking, the Hidden Cost of Mental Time Travel HERE.

Join my email list: https://priyankavenugopal.com/email

You know that feeling when you wake up on Monday morning completely committed to your goals, only to find yourself making excuses by Monday afternoon? You were so motivated just hours earlier, so where did that feeling go?

In this next episode of my overthinking series, I'm sharing a lesson I had to learn after watching myself drift away from health goals I'd worked hard to achieve. We're talking about why even the best plans can fall apart when life gets busy, and why the thing that's missing might not be more discipline or a better strategy.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.priyankavenugopal.com/242

Watch my TEDx talk: Overthinking, the Hidden Cost of Mental Time Travel HERE.

Join my email list: https://priyankavenugopal.com/email

This morning, I stepped on the scale and saw a number I hadn't seen in years. I was up 6.2 pounds. And while I felt that initial punch in the gut, what surprised me most was what happened next. Instead of spiraling into disappointment, I actually felt grateful. Yep, grateful!

In this episode, I'm sharing how a busy season of TEDx preparation, family travel, and back-to-school routines led me to slip into an old habit without even realizing it. And it all started with one innocent-sounding sentence that I know so many high-achieving women tell themselves. If you've ever found yourself putting your own needs on the back burner or feeling discouraged when your progress slips, this episode is for you.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.priyankavenugopal.com/241

Watch my TEDx talk: Overthinking, the Hidden Cost of Mental Time Travel HERE.

Join my email list: https://priyankavenugopal.com/email

In this episode, I'm sharing why I decided to evolve this podcast from Burn Stress Lose Weight into something bigger. Weight loss was the doorway into so much of my own personal growth, but over the years I started noticing a pattern that went far beyond the scale. There was something upstream quietly keeping so many smart, capable women stuck, and I could no longer fit that conversation into a smaller box.

This episode is part reintroduction, part behind-the-scenes look at my own overthinking, and part invitation into what's coming next. If you've ever had a goal, idea, dream, or decision that you've thought about so much that you barely moved, this new chapter is for you.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.priyankavenugopal.com/240

Watch my TEDx talk: Overthinking, the Hidden Cost of Mental Time Travel HERE.

Join my email list: https://priyankavenugopal.com/email

You may be completely capable of having hard conversations at work, advocating for your clients, or speaking up for someone you love, but when the conversation is about what you need, suddenly it can feel very different.

In this episode, I'm joined by master certified coach Sara Bybee Fisk for a powerful conversation about people-pleasing, resentment, relational risk, and why the conversations we keep putting on the shelf often come with a cost. We explore what makes a conversation feel hard, why high-achieving women are especially likely to avoid certain conversations, and what can become possible when you're willing to speak up.

About Sara Bybee Fisk: Sara Bybee Fisk coaches capable women through the conversations they're afraid to have. As a Master Certified Coach and host of the Ex-Good Girl Podcast, she's worked with thousands of women in medicine, business, and faith communities who've done years of personal work but still freeze when something they care about is at stake. Her approach is straightforward: most women don't need another insight or a better script- they need to learn the skills they were never taught.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.priyankavenugopal.com/239

Sara's workshop: https://www.sarafisk.coach/voice

Sara's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarafiskcoach/

Ready for your next level? Visit http://priyankavenugopal.com/

🔴 TEDx YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/-p6KtUizbvs?si=ypWcVMOAGR2w8gz9

What happens when the thing that used to motivate you no longer feels quite as powerful? Sometimes we keep pushing, planning, and trying to force ourselves forward when what we really need is to reconnect with why we're doing any of it in the first place. In this episode, I'm sharing a lesson that started with a struggle at home with my daughter and quickly turned into a much bigger realization about motivation, overthinking, and the next chapter of my own work.

This is a more personal episode about coming back to what matters, questioning the things we've been doing on autopilot, and being willing to move forward even when every detail isn't perfectly mapped out yet.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.priyankavenugopal.com/238

Ready for your next level? Visit http://priyankavenugopal.com

You already know what you said you were going to do. So why does your brain suddenly have 47 very convincing reasons not to do it? For overachievers, inconsistency often isn't a discipline problem. It's what happens in those tiny moments when we start negotiating with ourselves. We think about whether we should start tomorrow, whether today is too busy, whether we need to feel more motivated first, and before we know it, we've talked ourselves right out of the action that would move us forward.

In this episode, I'm breaking down why negotiating is so normal, how it quietly drains your mental energy, and the skill that can help you follow through even when part of your brain would really rather not.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.priyankavenugopal.com/237

Get the Body Reset Mini Course: https://priyankavenugopal.com/bodyreset

What if the scale froze today and never moved again? Would you still want to eat, move, sleep, and take care of yourself the way you are right now? For overachievers, it's easy to bring transactional energy into our health goals. We follow the plan, put in the effort, and expect the scale to pay us back. And when it doesn't happen on our timeline, resentment, frustration, and "why bother?" can quickly creep in.

In this episode, I'm exploring what happens when we stop keeping score with our bodies and start paying attention to a different kind of return. The kind that may never show up on a scale, spreadsheet, or tracker, but can completely change the way you experience taking care of yourself.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://priyankavenugopal.com/236

Get the Body Reset Mini Course: https://priyankavenugopal.com/bodyreset

What if time isn't actually the reason you haven't reached your goal? As high-achieving women, it's easy to believe that we simply need more time, a calmer season, or fewer responsibilities before we can finally follow through. But in this episode, I'm challenging that idea and sharing a clip from a recent coaching call inside The Unstoppable Group about what actually creates results.

We're talking about the difference between letting time pass and intentionally putting in high-quality reps, especially on the days when you don't feel motivated, excited, or perfectly on track. If you've ever told yourself, "I'll start tomorrow," this episode might change the way you think about your timeline entirely.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://priyankavenugopal.com/235

The TEDx talk is officially done. After months of preparing, rehearsing, getting rejected, trying again, and thinking about those 12 minutes on the Red Circle, I expected to wake up afterward feeling completely different. But that's not exactly what happened.

In this bonus episode, I'm sharing what surprised me most on the other side of accomplishing an "impossible" goal, including the patterns that showed up right before I stepped on stage, what helped me stop performing and start connecting, and why the biggest transformation often happens long before anyone else can see it. We're also talking about the people and environments we surround ourselves with, and how much they can shape what we believe is possible for us.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.burnstressloseweight.com/234

Take the Stress Quiz: https://burnstressloseweight.com/stress

This is the final chapter of my TEDx story before I step onto the stage, and this time, I'm not telling it from the other side. I'm recording it in real time, just days before the talk, while the nerves, perfectionism, and overthinking are very much alive.

In this episode, I'm sharing what surprised me about getting close to a big goal, why success can sometimes make our stress patterns louder instead of quieter, and the shift that's helping me stay grounded as the red circle gets closer. Because sometimes the hardest part isn't starting. It's letting yourself arrive.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.burnstressloseweight.com/233

Take the Stress Quiz: https://burnstressloseweight.com/stress

This week, I'm sharing part three of my TEDx journey, and the part that I believe matters most when you're going after a big goal: what happens when you get rejected.

As an overachiever, rejection can feel like so much more than a simple "no." It can quickly turn into questioning whether you're good enough or whether the goal was ever meant for you in the first place. In this episode, I'm sharing what my TEDx rejections brought up for me, how my 60-pound weight loss journey prepared me for these moments, and the skill I believe every overachiever needs if they want to create a bigger life.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.burnstressloseweight.com/232

Take the Stress Quiz: https://burnstressloseweight.com/stress

This episode starts with a surprising realization: making the decision to chase a big dream isn't actually the hardest part. The real challenge begins after the excitement fades. In part two of my TEDx journey, I'm sharing the mindset shift that helped me move forward when motivation disappeared, and why this lesson changed not just my TEDx experience, but my weight loss journey too.

If you've ever wondered why you procrastinate on the goals that matter most, or found yourself waiting to "feel motivated" before taking action, this episode will help you see those moments in an entirely new way.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.burnstressloseweight.com/231

Take the Stress Quiz: https://burnstressloseweight.com/stress

A few years ago, I had a dream that felt way too big, and I almost talked myself out of it before I ever took the first step. In this episode, I'm sharing a milestone I've been waiting months to announce and the mindset shift that finally helped me stop dismissing my own dreams.

This is the first episode in a four-part series that takes you behind the scenes of my TEDx journey. If you've ever had an idea that excited you only to immediately convince yourself it probably wasn't for you, this episode is for you.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.burnstressloseweight.com/230

Take the Stress Quiz: https://burnstressloseweight.com/stress

We're wrapping up the six-part summer series with the mindset pattern I see most often in the smartest women I work with: wanting to feel completely certain and in control before you take action. It sounds responsible. It even feels productive. But if you've ever spun through every "what if" scenario, you already know what this really is: a time machine that takes you out of the only moment you can actually control, which is right now. In this final bite-sized episode, I'm sharing the exact process I use to get myself out of the loop.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.burnstressloseweight.com/229

Loving the series? A big announcement is coming to my email list first: http://burnstressloseweight.com/email

If you've ever made a plan on Sunday and thought, "But what if I don't feel like eating that way by Thursday?" and then quietly made no plan at all, this one is for you, friend. In Part 5 of the Success Mindset summer series, I dig into the mindset that keeps so many of us overachievers stuck: the fear of feeling boxed in, and the way that fear quietly hands your most important decisions to the most depleted version of you.

Here's the uncomfortable truth underneath it. The freedom you think you're protecting by "staying flexible" is the very thing draining your time, your energy, and your results. This is a short and sweet episode with a concept that gave me hours of my life back, and it reaches far past the plate.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.burnstressloseweight.com/228

Loving the series? A big announcement is coming to my email list first: http://burnstressloseweight.com/email

If you're the kind of woman who gets a little hit of satisfaction every time you cross something off your list, this one's for you, friend. Because here's what I've noticed after years of chasing those tiny checkboxes: the small, easy tasks we tell ourselves are "productive" are often the exact thing keeping us from the goal that actually matters. I call it procrasto-working, and overachievers are dangerously good at it.

In part four of our six-part Success Mindset summer series, I'm sharing the shift I personally made that changed how I move through my entire day — starting with the hard thing instead of saving it for a version of me that has more time, more energy, and fewer emails (spoiler: she never arrives). It's a small reorder with a surprisingly big ripple effect, and it's less about discipline than you'd think.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.burnstressloseweight.com/227

Join my email list: http://burnstressloseweight.com/email

If you're the kind of woman who scans the room to make sure everyone else is comfortable before you even think about yourself, this one is for you. Somewhere along the way, a lot of overachievers picked up a quiet belief: that rest has to be earned. That you can take care of yourself once the to-do list is finally done, once the fires are out, once everyone else is handled. It sounds generous on paper. But in Part 3 of the summer Success Mindset series, Priyanka does the real math on what that belief actually costs you, on the scale and off, and why the version of you that's running on fumes is never the version that gets to show up at your best.

This episode is a permission slip. It's also a little uncomfortable, in the way the most important shifts usually are. If you've ever undone a whole week of wins between Friday and Sunday because you were desperate to squeeze in a break, come sit with this one.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.burnstressloseweight.com/226

Join my email list: http://burnstressloseweight.com/email

Most overachievers don't fall short of their goals because they lack a plan. They fall short because they're running their life on autopilot — and a goal, by definition, means you want something different than what you have right now. In part two of the Success Mindset series, Priyanka unpacks the sneaky mindset that quietly keeps smart, busy women waiting: the when-then thought. When my calendar clears, then I'll focus on myself. When I finish this to-do list, then I'll take care of my health.

If you've ever caught yourself waiting for the "right time" to recommit, this episode names exactly why that moment never quite arrives — and what to do instead. It's a million-dollar skill that applies on the scale and off, and most overachievers are leaving it completely on the table.

Resources:

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.burnstressloseweight.com/225

Join my email list: http://burnstressloseweight.com/email