Making It Without Losing It: The Truth About Motivation & Burnout with Jess Ekstrom | 409

About this episode

Nicole Kalil and Jess Ekstrom discuss the toxic relationship high-achieving women have with motivation and success, emphasizing the need to redefine success and find true purpose.

You hit the goal. You check the box. You reach the milestone. And instead of feeling fulfilled… you’re already onto the next thing. Yeah — that’s the problem. In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole sits down with Jess Ekstrom — founder, bestselling author, and reformed anxious achiever — to call out the toxic relationship so many high-achieving women have with motivation, success, and self-worth. And spoiler alert: it’s not a motivation problem. It’s a meaning problem. Because somewhere along the way, ambition got tangled up with anxiety, productivity got confused with purpose, and we decided we’d finally feel good enough… later. After the next goal. The next milestone. The next arbitrary number. Sound familiar? We cover: The difference between anxious ambition vs. inspired ambition How to redefine success so it actually feels like success (not just looks good on paper) The “purpose test” that will instantly expose if you’re chasing approval or impact Why you keep moving the goalpost — and how it’s burning you out How comparison can either crush you… or prove what’s possible Because here’s the uncomfortable truth: if you keep tying your worth to what’s next, you will…

People in this episode

Host: Nicole Kalil

Guest: Jess Ekstrom

Topics covered

• motivation
• burnout
• success
• self-worth
• ambition
• purpose

Keywords

• motivation
• burnout
• success
• self-worth
• ambition
• purpose
• anxiety
• comparison

Sponsors

Upwork, Skylight Calendar, Fora

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