Be honest. You secretly love how much you can endure. Like it’s a badge of honour that you can take on more, stay longer, push harder, and still (kinda) look put together?

But here’s the kicker: What if that “unstoppable drive” isn’t grit at all?

What if it’s your nervous system running on a decades-old operating system — one that learned, way back when, that proving yourself was the only way to stay safe, loved, or valuable?

That would explain some things, wouldn’t it?

Like why you:

• Secretly check emails on holiday… in the bathroom… while everyone else is having fun.

• Stay in jobs, relationships, and projects way past their expiry date because nobody’s gonna underestimate you.

• Celebrate big wins by immediately asking, “Cool, what’s next?” instead of, you know, celebrating.

If you’re nodding (and maybe wincing), this episode is your mirror.

I’m joined by Anna Runkle (aka The Crappy Childhood Fairy, YouTube queen, and new author of Re-Regulated) and Dr Sarah Madigan, psychologist extraordinaire, to ask one big question: What’s really driving your drive?

We’ll poke at the shiny, high-achiever veneer and ask whether your ambition is actually joy-fuelled — or just a trauma pattern in designer shoes.

You’ll learn:

• How over-achievement can be a sneaky trauma response (and why that doesn’t make you “broken”).

• The surprising body tells that your drive has tipped from energising to dysregulating.

• Why noticing your patterns is the most subversive act of self-preservation you can do.

• How to make your ambition sustainable instead of soul-scorching.

This is not about “fixing” your drive. It’s about untangling it, so it stops running you into the ground and starts fuelling the life you actually want.

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why am I like this?” — press play.

LINKS

Anna Runkle’s website, book(s), and free resource she mentions

Dr Sarah Madigan’s website

Dr Sarah Madigan was a guest on episode 63 of Enough, the Podcast Listen HERE

The Three Circles Model by Paul Gilbert

What’s Driving Your Drive QUIZ