Earlier this week, I got a note from my podcast editor asking if I had a new episode ready to edit. My immediate reaction was:
“Wait. What?!”
“Uh oh.”
“Isn’t it due NEXT week?”
You see, a new episode of The Overthinkers Guide to Joy drops every other Wednesday. That’s been the rhythm for years. I don’t miss deadlines. I live for lists, box-checking, returned emails, and immediate text responses.
Neurotic perfectionism is my love language.
So, how did this happen? The truth is—I forgot. Plain and simple. I missed the deadline. There was no dramatic reason. No travel emergency. No flu. No power outage. Just me being human.
And then came the spiral…
The shame.
The embarrassment.
The “how could I” spinning in my head.
But here’s where it gets even better. I spend my career coaching people through perfectionism. I literally help others untangle themselves from this very mindset. So now I was not only imperfect—I was a hypocrite, too.
Cue the irony.
But after a beat (and a breath), I remembered: We can be “recovering” perfectionists (as Brene Brown says). We can make tremendous progress, and still mess up from time to time. That doesn’t erase our growth. It doesn’t mean we’re frauds. It just means we’re still human.
So, I don’t have a NEW podcast episode for you today. But I do have 125 others to explore—maybe there’s one waiting for you that’s exactly what you need right now.
👉 Feel free to scan the library here.
If you’re a perfectionist, people pleaser, or overthinker who’s trying hard to shift, but still falls back into old patterns, just remember:
You are not alone.
You’re not failing.
You’re not back at square one.
You’re just practicing, and sometimes practicing is messy, but be gentle with yourself anyway.
With compassion (and humility),
Jackie
