I never set out to be a coach.

I spent most of my career striving for the next thing - the promotion, the title, the validation that came with delivering results.

I wore "perfectionist" like a badge of honour. I told myself it just meant I had high standards.

The truth was something deeper: I believed my worth depended on being flawless. An impossible, ever-shifting idea of “perfect”. This meant I was always one mistake away from feeling worthless.

As a teenager, I studied every evening and weekend, terrified of slipping up. Being top of the class brought the validation I craved, so I kept pushing. It followed me into my career, and for a while, it worked.

I’ve had a successful career as a senior leader, working for some of the world’s top brands. I’ve managed large teams, won awards and supported CEOs at the top of their game.

But while I looked successful on the outside. Inside was different. Intense self-doubt. Anxiety. And eventually, it led to burnout.

Turned out the strategy I'd built to protect myself had become the thing that hurt me most.

Recovery meant reckoning with patterns I'd never examined. I started therapy. I trained as a Samaritans volunteer. Eventually, I trained as a coach and completed a Master's in Executive Coaching. This culminated in research that explored shame, self-worth, and why so many high achievers feel like frauds despite all the evidence to the contrary.

I share this because I want you to know: when you tell me about the stress you feel, the voice that says you're not enough, the exhaustion of striving for success while struggling on the inside — I don't just understand the concept. I have lived it.

And I found a way forward.