Stop Shrinking Your Shine - Before It Looses All Of It's Glow

About this episode

Hilary Saxton discusses the tendency of high achievers, particularly women, to downplay their successes and the psychological impacts of this behavior.

Ever achieve something massive… then immediately shove it into the “no big deal” bin? In this straight-talking solo episode, Hilary gets brutally honest about the habit high achievers (especially women) fall into - downplaying wins so fast you barely feel the glow before it fades. Fresh off a 30-hour trip home from New York (with five global Stevie Awards and an Able Book Award under her arm), Hilary realised she’d walked straight back into business-as-usual. No celebration. No pause. Not even a proper post. And that wake-up call sparked today’s episode: why we shrink our success and how it’s quietly sabotaging our identity, confidence, and momentum. Using behavioural psychology, lived experience, and her signature no-bullshit clarity, Hilary unpacks the real culprits -  fear of judgment, tall poppy syndrome, imposter thoughts, invisibility conditioning, and survival mode - and how each one tricks your brain into believing your achievements are “irrelevant.” In this episode you’ll learn: Why achievement amnesia is real (and how your brain literally deletes your wins when you don’t honour them). The psychology…

People in this episode

Host: Hilary Saxton

Topics covered

• achievement
• self-worth
• psychology
• confidence
• celebration
• imposter syndrome

Keywords

• achievement amnesia
• tall poppy syndrome
• fear of judgment
• imposter thoughts
• invisibility conditioning
• survival mode
• confidence
• celebration

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Stevie Awards, Able Book Award

More episodes of Bounce Back Better By Hilary Saxton

• Busy Isn't a Life, It's a Calendar · June 10, 2026 · 14 min
• The Bill You Didn't Know You Were Paying! · June 4, 2026 · 23 min
• Stop Letting the Worst Version of You Decide · May 28, 2026 · 31 min
• The Man Who Knew Every Road and Had Nowhere to Go · May 7, 2026 · 22 min
• Is Focus Fluff Killing Your Progress? · April 29, 2026 · 15 min
• Are You Playing the Victim Without Realising It? · April 23, 2026 · 17 min