Hyper-achievers live in a world of conditional happiness.
I’ll be happy when I get that job.
When I get that promotion.
When I buy that house.
I will never forget when one of my clients, a high-powered woman in tech, said to me, “My self-worth is tied to my productivity.” That sentence landed in my body like a thud because it mirrored my own inner world so clearly.
I’ve always been A+ Anna. I’m excellent at setting goals, achieving them, and immediately moving on to the next thing. Relaxing doesn’t come naturally. Celebrating? Even harder.
🎤 Last week, I delivered a confidence-building workshop to 70+ women in tech at the Women in Tech Regatta. As an extreme introvert with a lifelong fear of public speaking, this was a big deal for me.
And yet, I woke up the next morning already thinking about what’s next. By writing these words, I’m intentionally slowing myself down, so I can actually feel the accomplishment and soak in a job well done before setting the next mountain to climb.
If this resonates, you may be familiar with the hyper-achiever saboteur, the part of you that depends on performance and external validation for self-worth.
The hyper-achiever isn’t the enemy. In fact, it brings many powerful strengths:
✅ Driven, goal-oriented, and self-directed
✅ Adaptable and pragmatic
✅ Capable of growing self and others to reach full potential
✅ Highly productive and reliableThese qualities help you succeed. But when overused, they quietly sabotage you by making peace and happiness fleeting and only available after the next win.
The antidote: learn to enjoy the journey!
Here are a few ways to weaken this saboteur:
🔥 Celebrate intentionally: write down three wins at the end of each week no matter how small.
🔥 Practice presence: take short pauses during the day to notice how you feel, not just what you’re producing.
🔥Reframe success: see your work as an arena for growth and self-expression, not proof of your worth.
🔥Detach worth from outcomes: play passionately to win, while remembering that the outcome doesn’t define you.
All saboteurs are simply strengths that have been overused and abused. When you learn to work with them instead of being run by them, you reclaim your energy, joy, and sense of wholeness.
So let me ask you:
How do you celebrate your successes before chasing the next one?
If this topic resonates and you want to explore it more deeply, I’d love to invite you to join me for my upcoming workshop:
Confident Leadership In-Person Workshop
📍 666 Burrard Street, Vancouver
📅 Saturday, February 28 | 12:30pm to 6:30pm
🎟️ https://lnkd.in/gyUvYEF3
It’s a powerful, practical afternoon focused on confidence, self-leadership, and learning how to work with your inner saboteurs instead of against them.
Lots of love,
-Anna
