The Real Cost of Perfectionism

You're achieving. You're delivering. So why does it feel like you're running on empty?

Rubina Chada joins Sabrina this week for a conversation that goes beneath the surface of high performance — exploring what happens when ambition is fuelled by pressure rather than genuine alignment. Drawing from lived experience and professional practice, Rubina brings a grounded, honest lens to the quiet ways perfectionism and chronic stress erode the things we rely on most: clarity, creativity, and trust in ourselves.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Why perfectionism often isn't about standards — it's about what we believe happens if we fall short of them.
• How chronic stress quietly dismantles the clarity and creativity we need most to do our best work.
• What it means to build achievement from alignment rather than anxiety — and how to begin making that shift.
• Practical ways to regulate your nervous system when pressure starts to override your thinking.
• How developing emotional awareness can change the way you show up in work, relationships, and decision-making.
• Why slowing down isn't the opposite of growth — and how it often becomes the conditions for it.
• How to start building a more stable inner foundation, even when the demands around you haven't changed.

The cost of perfectionism isn't failure — it's the version of yourself you never gave permission to exist.

Hosted by Sabrina Brown — life coach and management consultant. New episodes every Monday on Brum Radio and wherever you listen to podcasts.

Instagram: @breentimepodcast

LinkedIn: Breen Time Podcast

breentimepodcast.com

Brum Radio: brumradio.com

Guest website: theinnerdesign.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You've rehearsed it in your head a hundred times. You know what needs to be said. And yet - you stay quiet. Again.

Avoidance feels like keeping the peace. But over time, it quietly dismantles your relationships, your self-respect, and your sense of who you are. In this episode, Sabrina gets direct about one of the most common patterns she sees as a life coach and management consultant: the high cost of the conversations we never have.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• The five fears that drive avoidance — and how to identify which one is yours
• Why silence isn't neutral: how staying quiet teaches people exactly how to treat you
• The hidden damage of unspoken truths — from invisible walls in relationships to eroded self-respect
• Eight practical techniques for handling tough conversations with confidence and emotional maturity
• Why the goal isn't to be right — it's to be honest
• How braver conversations lead to deeper relationships, stronger boundaries, and a life that actually fits
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Because the pain of avoidance doesn't disappear — it just changes shape.

Breen Time is hosted by Sabrina Brown — life coach and management consultant. New episodes every Monday — listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow the Breen Time Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebreentimepodcast/

And on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/breentime/

Visit the website: https://shows.acast.com/the-breentime-podcast

Brum Radio: https://www.instagram.com/brumradio/

If this episode raised something for you, support is available: Counselling Directory: https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk Samaritans: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/ Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk NHS Mental Health Services: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/ NHS Talking Therapies: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/counselling/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some losses are clean. Others dismantle you slowly - from the inside out, and in front of everyone.

This week, Sabrina is joined by Linda Magoon for a conversation about what it actually takes to rebuild a life after long-term control, public shame by association, and the kind of emotional collapse that leaves you questioning who you even are. Linda's story is not one of slogans or easy reframes. It's one of putting one foot in front of the other - literally - when everything else has fallen away.

What emerges is a grounded, honest account of recovery rooted in action: deliberate physical challenge, time in nature, professional support, and the quiet discipline of showing up for yourself when you have nothing left to prove and nowhere left to hide.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• What long-term control does to a person's sense of self — and how disorienting it is to reclaim it
• How public shame by association compounds personal grief, and what it takes to separate someone else's choices from your own identity
• Why motivation alone is not enough in the aftermath of collapse — and what actually anchors recovery
• The role of deliberate physical challenge and time in nature as tools for rebuilding from the inside out
• Why professional support isn't a shortcut — it's part of the discipline
• What responsibility really looks like when you're the one picking up the pieces

Resilience isn't a mindset you adopt. It's a practice you return to, every day, whether or not you feel ready. Linda's website and resources: www.lindamagoon.com

Breen Time is hosted by Sabrina Brown MA - qualified coach, management consultant, and host of Breen Time on Brum Radio. With over two decades of experience leading large-scale transformation and advanced training in AI in Business Strategy from MIT, Sabrina brings structure, depth, and real-world insight to every conversation.

Follow the Breen Time Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebreentimepodcast/

And on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/breentime/

Visit the website: https://shows.acast.com/the-breentime-podcast

Brum Radio: https://www.instagram.com/brumradio/

If this episode raised something for you, support is available: Counselling Directory: https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk Samaritans: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/ Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk NHS Mental Health Services: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/ NHS Talking Therapies: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/counselling/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.