They told you to dream big, work hard, and stay focused.
But they didn't tell you what would happen when your self-worth got tangled in your to-do list.
When achievement becomes your armor, success starts to feel like survival.
And the woman who looks like she has it all?
Is usually the one lying awake at 2 AM asking, "What if I slow down and everyone realizes I'm not that special?"
Welcome back to Unapologetically In Power.
The space where we stop editing ourselves to fit in and start expressing ourselves to stand out.
I'm your host, Jennifer Damaskos—investor, entrepreneur, coach, and woman who once believed that if I just worked harder, hustled smarter, and achieved more, I'd finally feel worthy.
This is Episode 4 of our first theme: How to Unlearn Who You Had to Be—and today we're unmasking the Overachiever.
The overachiever mask isn't always obvious.
She's not the woman having dramatic breakdowns or missing deadlines.
She's the woman who gets praised for being driven, disciplined, dedicated.
The one who checks every box, hits every deadline, and still lies awake wondering if she's doing enough.
Here's what the Overachiever looks like in 2024:
She has seventeen business podcasts in her queue but hasn't posted her own content in weeks.
She researches, optimizes, and perfects—but rarely ships.
She knows more about personal branding than most consultants, but her own brand feels scattered.
She's building a business... but she's building it like a term paper, not like art.
You see, achievement addiction doesn't just show up as working long hours anymore.
It shows up as:
- Consuming endless content but never creating your own
- Having a perfect content calendar that you never execute
- Networking constantly but never deepening relationships
- Learning, learning, learning—but never leading
According to a 2023 Deloitte study, 77% of high-achieving women report experiencing burnout at work. But here's what the research doesn't capture: the specific exhaustion of women who are achieving in everyone else's framework while abandoning their own creative instincts.
Because here's the truth about the modern overachiever:
You're productive—but not present.
Accomplished—but not aligned.
Visible—but not authentic.
You've become really good at hitting targets that someone else set.
But when was the last time you set your own?
I see this with my clients constantly:
The consultant who has three certifications but won't start her podcast because it doesn't feel "expert" enough yet.
The executive who tracks every metric except the one that matters: how often she speaks her truth.
The entrepreneur who launches perfectly polished offerings that feel flat because they're built from strategy, not soul.
The overachiever mask convinced you that more credentials equal more credibility.
That more preparation equals more presence.
That more perfection equals more power.
But here's what actually happens:
While you're perfecting, someone else is posting.
While you're preparing, someone else is leading.
While you're proving, someone else is growing.
Achievement without alignment is a slow death of self.
You become the resume. The LinkedIn profile. The perfectly curated version of a person who's forgotten what she actually wants.
When you release the Overachiever Mask, everything shifts.
Instead of asking "What will make me look qualified?" you ask "What will make me feel alive?"
Instead of building credentials, you build connection.
Instead of proving your worth, you start embodying it.
You start choosing goals from desire—not from a need to demonstrate competence.
You create content that reflects your actual thoughts, not your most polished ones.
You show up as you are today, not who you think you need to be tomorrow.
You rest without guilt.
You ship before you're ready.
You lead from curiosity instead of certainty.
Because here's what I've learned:
A woman who reclaims her worth from her achievements becomes unstoppable.
Not because she stops achieving—but because she starts achieving things that matter to her soul, not just her reputation.
The woman on the other side of this mask?
She doesn't need three more certifications before she calls herself an expert.
She doesn't need 10,000 followers before she considers herself influential.
She doesn't need permission from anyone—including herself—to take up space.
She achieves because she wants to, not because she has to.
And that energy? It's magnetic.
Here's your Power Prompt for this week:
Complete these sentences:
1. "I'm achieving _______ to prove _______."
2. "If I didn't have to prove anything to anyone, I would _______."
3. "The achievement I'm most proud of that no one else would understand is _______."
Get honest. Get specific.
Because awareness is the first step to freedom.
And if you're ready to make this reflection a regular practice, I recommend the Five Minute Journal from Intelligent Change.
It helps you reconnect with what actually matters—not just what looks impressive.
Use code UNAPOLOGETIC10 for 10% off at intelligentchange.com.
You don't need more gold stars.
You need more truth.
If this episode hit home—if you recognized yourself in the achievement hamster wheel—don't keep it to yourself.
Hit subscribe so you never miss an episode.
Share this with a friend who's tired of overachieving her way into emptiness.
And most importantly: post something imperfect this week.
Ship the thing you've been perfecting.
Start the conversation you've been researching.
Lead with what you know now, not what you think you should know.
Because the version of you who doesn't need to prove her worth?
She's been waiting for permission to show up.
This is that permission.
This is Unapologetically In Power.
I'm Jennifer Damaskos—here to remind you:
You were never meant to earn your worth.
You were meant to embody it.
