Spacious Success

Dr Kristy Goodwin

A podcast for high-achieving women who want to thrive at work without burning out their lives. You’re smart. You’re driven. You love what you do. But you’re also… exhausted. Welcome to Spacious Success, a podcast for women who are ready to redefine what it means to “have it all” in a world that rarely slows down. Hosted by Dr Kristy Goodwin, one of Australia’s leading neuro-performance experts, this show unpacks the science, strategies and stories that help ambitious women perform at their best, without sacrificing their wellbeing, relationships, or sanity. Because let’s be honest: the systems we work in weren’t built for women. The digital demands never stop. And burnout isn’t a vibe , it’s a physiological SOS. Each episode explores how we can create sustainable success from the inside out, at work, in leadership, in motherhood, and in our own minds and bodies. Expect practical tools, honest conversations, and brain-based strategies that move beyond hustle culture and toxic productivity. Whether you’re a leader, executive, founder, educator, or changemaker, Spacious Success is here to remind you: ✨ You don’t have to choose between ambition and alignment. ✨ You can be excellent without being always-on. ✨ You can lead and live without losing yourself. We’ll explore topics like: • How to thrive in a digitally-demanding world • The nervous system science behind burnout and performance • Redefining success in leadership, motherhood, and midlife • Navigating the invisible load at home and work • Creating boundaries that actually serve you • Women’s health and hormones in high-pressure roles • Recovery, rest and resilience in real life Plus, you’ll hear from inspiring guests, thought leaders, experts, creatives and high-performing women, who are rewriting the rules and reclaiming what success looks and feels like. 🎧 Hit follow and join the movement toward a more spacious, sustainable, and human way to work and live. Because you weren’t meant to do it all. You were meant to do what matters, with more ease, energy and spaciousness.

  1. 6 days ago

    022 | The Big Person: Why Your Family Borrows Your Nervous System with Dr Vanessa Lapointe

    Why do so many high-functioning women hold it together all day, then unravel somewhere between the front door and dinner preparation? In this episode, Dr Kristy sits down with registered psychologist, bestselling author and international speaker Dr Vanessa Lapointe to unpack the invisible emotional load ambitious women carry as the steady anchor of their families, teams and workplaces. Vanessa shares the single most reframing idea in this conversation: all overreaction is an age regression. When you snap over the shoes in the hallway, it is rarely the grown-up in you speaking. Together, Kristy and Vanessa explore identity whiplash, the childhood programming that makes boundaries feel unsafe, the science of rupture and repair, and why atonement beats apology every time. Vanessa also shares, with disarming honesty, what buying into the myth of having it all cost her, and the simple morning ritual that now anchors her day. If you are the emotional thermostat of your household or your team, this conversation is your permission slip: even on your worst day, you are still your people's best bet. Dr Vanessa Lapointe’s website- https://drvanessalapointe.com/  Instagram-  https://www.instagram.com/dr.vanessalapointe/  References from the episode: Tronick, E., & Gold, C. M. (2020). The power of discord: Why the ups and downs of relationships are the secret to building intimacy, resilience, and trust. Little, Brown Spark.  Elkind, D. (2007). The power of play: Learning what comes naturally. Da Capo Press.  In-episode claim that one of the highest consumer uses of generative AI chat tools is seeking parenting advice. \ https://www.luriechildrens.org/en/blog/ai-parenting-statistics/  In-episode description of oestrogen as a hormone of accommodation; this is a colloquial framing, not a clinical term.

    022 | The Big Person: Why Your Family Borrows Your Nervous System with Dr Vanessa Lapointe

  2. 2 July

    021 | Born to Overwork: The Hidden Identity Driving High-Achieving Women

    You can manage your time, set your boundaries, take the holiday, and still find that you cannot switch off. In this episode, Dr Kristy unpacks why so many high-achievers keep overworking even when every external reason to slow down has gone. Drawing on new research into what scientists call the “doer identity”, and the striking pattern of eldest daughters in senior leadership, she explains why rest can register as a threat to your nervous system, names the three identity profiles driving the behaviour, and shares three shifts to begin loosening the grip. This is not a time-management problem. It is an identity problem. And it is one you can work with, not against. Book Dr Kristy to speak: https://drkristygoodwin.com Coaching: https://drkristygoodwin.com/executive-coaching/

    021 | Born to Overwork: The Hidden Identity Driving High-Achieving Women

  3. 25 June

    020 | Going First: Confidence, Courage and the Visibility Tax, with Yasmin London

    What if confidence was never the thing holding women back? In this episode, Dr Kristy Goodwin sits down with digital safety expert, speaker and former police officer Yasmin London to unpack what is really keeping capable women from stepping forward. Yasmin shares preliminary findings from her First Movers Women's Confidence Study, including the striking gap between how confident women feel in the role they already hold and how rarely they apply for the next one. Together they explore why burnout is a systemic condition rather than a personal flaw, why courage comes before confidence and not the other way around, the unspoken tax women pay for being visible online, and how households and workplaces can redistribute the invisible load. It is a candid, science-backed conversation about backing women in ways that actually work.

    020 | Going First: Confidence, Courage and the Visibility Tax, with Yasmin London

  4. 18 June

    019 | The Invisible Tax: What the Messy Room Research Reveals About Women's Hidden Load

    Why does a messy house feel like a personal failing for so many women, even when their partner insists no one cares? In this episode I unpack the research on mess perception, kinkeeping and office housework that reveals what I call the Invisible Tax: the cognitive and emotional load women carry at home and at work that is rarely seen, rarely measured and almost never rewarded. I share a study where more than 600 people judged identical messy rooms differently depending on whether the name on the door was John or Jane, and a moment from one of my keynotes where I asked a room full of women to raise their hands for every piece of invisible labour they had performed that month. I explain why this load is not a perception problem but a working memory problem, drawing on research into the cognitive dimension of household labour and the second shift. Then I share three strategies for making the invisible visible, protecting your cognitive prime time and reducing the tax you are paying without even realising it. References Daminger, A. (2019). The cognitive dimension of household labor. American Sociological Review, 84(4), 609-633. Hochschild, A. R. (1989). The second shift: Working parents and the revolution at home. Viking. Saxbe, D., & Repetti, R. (2010). No place like home: Home tours correlate with daily patterns of mood and cortisol. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(1), 71-81. Enquire about Dr Kristy speaking at your event: https://drkristygoodwin.com/speaking/ Links Chronotype Assessment and Report - https://drkristygoodwin.com/product/chronotype/  Fair Play book and cards - https://www.fairplaylife.com/  The Imperfects episode on The Elephant in the Relationship | Marriage and The Mental Load - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGwzKFu4ckU

    019 | The Invisible Tax: What the Messy Room Research Reveals About Women's Hidden Load

  5. 11 June

    018 | Back Yourself: Body Confidence, Big Courage and Showing Up Anyway with Taryn Brumfitt

    Taryn Brumfitt has reached more than 200 million people with one message: your body is not the problem. As the 2023 Australian of the Year, founder of the Embrace Movement and creator of the EMBRACE films, Taryn has spent more than a decade doing the work that most of us were told was impossible. Changing the way women feel about their bodies. In this conversation, Taryn and I explore what actually happened the night she posted those now-famous before-and-after photos and went to bed. We talk about why women struggle so persistently with body image in a world designed to profit from their insecurity, and how to reclaim your power in a digital environment built to make you feel not enough. We cover the compare-and-despair cycle, how to tame self-doubt and choose courage in small, repeatable ways, and why the superwoman identity is a myth we need to stop celebrating. Taryn also shares what she has witnessed as a high-profile woman on the receiving end of online abuse, and why calling it out is not optional. We close with her definition of spacious success, which is doing what you want, how you want, when you want, and sitting with the discomfort of even saying that out loud. This is one of the most honest, funny and quietly courageous conversations I have had on this podcast. Taryn is proof that one action taken from truth can change the world. Resources  Taryn Brumfitt website: tarynbrumfitt.com  Body Image Movement: bodyimagemovement.com  The Embrace Hub (free resources): embracehub.com  EMBRACE and EMBRACE KIDS films Taryn Brumfitt on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarynbrumfitt/) and Instagram Taryn (https://www.instagram.com/tarynbrumfittkeynotes/) and Body Image Movement (https://www.instagram.com/bodyimagemovement/)

    018 | Back Yourself: Body Confidence, Big Courage and Showing Up Anyway with Taryn Brumfitt

  6. 4 June

    017 | Women Fantasise About Being Sick: What It Signals About Modern Work

    There is a thought that many high-performing women have quietly entertained, and almost never say out loud. Sometimes I wish I could just get sick for a week. Not seriously. Just enough to stop. Just enough that the world would stop asking things of them without needing an explanation. In this episode, Dr Kristy Goodwin unpacks why this fantasy is more widespread than we admit, what it is actually signalling, and why it is not a resilience problem. It is a design problem. Drawing on research into anticipatory labour, cortisol recovery patterns, and the neuroscience of mirror neurons, Kristy reframes the illness fantasy as a loud biological signal: high-performing women are operating beyond their bandwidth in systems that only grant permission to rest when the body forces it. You will leave this episode with a clearer understanding of why your body is sending these signals, and three practical ways to start reclaiming rest as a performance strategy, not a reward. Resources: Nicola Jane Hobbs’ Book The Relaxed Woman (https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-relaxed-woman-9781846048067) Nap Ministry- https://www.instagram.com/thenapministry/?hl=en Amplified Program- https://drkristygoodwin.com/executive-coaching/

    017 | Women Fantasise About Being Sick: What It Signals About Modern Work

  7. 28 May

    016 | Why You Feel Exhausted Even When You're Doing Everything Right, with Amelia Phillips

    Amelia Phillips is a sports scientist, nutritionist, bestselling author, and co-founder of the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation. For over two decades she has worked with women on the science of energy, recovery and performance, and today she brings her precision lens to the conversation Spacious Success listeners are hungry for. In this episode, Amelia and Dr Kristy Goodwin go deep on what is actually happening inside the bodies of ambitious women in their late 30s, 40s and 50s, the data Amelia is seeing in her programs, and the practical steps that make a measurable difference. They cover the cortisol test that revealed only 5 out of 65 women had a healthy stress response, the difference between chronic stress and adrenal fatigue and why the treatment approach is completely different, why vitamin D deficiency is rampant in Australia and how it directly impacts energy and mood, the reframe of discipline as freedom rather than restriction, and how to protect your energy capital so you are not running on empty. This is not generic wellness advice. It is evidence-led, biology-first and built for the woman who is done guessing. Key Topics Covered The red thread through Amelia's career: health, women and behaviour change What the data shows in the Inner Vitality program: the four stress response types The cortisol curve explained: chronic stress versus adrenal fatigue versus dysregulation Why only 5 out of 65 women returned a healthy stress response The micronutrient deficiencies most commonly found in high-performing women: vitamin D, magnesium, ferritin, iodine Can't sleep versus won't sleep: two very different problems requiring very different solutions Discipline as a framework for freedom, not restriction The daily breath, weekly pause, seasonal restore model for stress management Energy capital: deposits, withdrawals and what that means for your week The Superwoman Myth: Amelia's take on why nobody actually feels like a superwoman RESOURCES Amelia’s Website (https://www.ameliaphillips.com.au/) Energy Quiz (https://v360.health/sp/energy-quiz-2/) Vitality 360 Program (https://v360.health/) Healthy Her podcast (https://www.ameliaphillips.com.au/podcasts/) Follow Amelia on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/_amelia_phillips/)

    016 | Why You Feel Exhausted Even When You're Doing Everything Right, with Amelia Phillips

  8. 21 May

    015 | The AI Addiction Problem: Why AI Tools Are So Hard to Put Down

    You have probably noticed it. One quick prompt becomes eleven. You close the tab forty-five minutes later with that particular hollowness that follows too long on a screen. And you wonder: is it just me? It is not. And it is not a willpower problem either. In this episode, I walk through the five neurological mechanisms that make AI genuinely hard to put down: dopamine loops and instant feedback, intermittent variable rewards, your brain's novelty detection system, the psychological need satisfaction that self-determination theory explains, and the long-term risk of cognitive offloading. Each one is rooted in how your brain actually works. Stacked together, they explain why AI has become one of the most compelling tools most of us have ever encountered. I also share three practical strategies for using AI with intention rather than compulsion, including a prompt limit protocol that interrupts the dopamine loop before it takes over, a think-first approach that protects your most valuable cognitive capabilities, and a framework for designating AI-free thinking zones in your work. The goal is not to use AI less. It is to use it on your terms, not its.

    015 | The AI Addiction Problem: Why AI Tools Are So Hard to Put Down
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About

A podcast for high-achieving women who want to thrive at work without burning out their lives. You’re smart. You’re driven. You love what you do. But you’re also… exhausted. Welcome to Spacious Success, a podcast for women who are ready to redefine what it means to “have it all” in a world that rarely slows down. Hosted by Dr Kristy Goodwin, one of Australia’s leading neuro-performance experts, this show unpacks the science, strategies and stories that help ambitious women perform at their best, without sacrificing their wellbeing, relationships, or sanity. Because let’s be honest: the systems we work in weren’t built for women. The digital demands never stop. And burnout isn’t a vibe , it’s a physiological SOS. Each episode explores how we can create sustainable success from the inside out, at work, in leadership, in motherhood, and in our own minds and bodies. Expect practical tools, honest conversations, and brain-based strategies that move beyond hustle culture and toxic productivity. Whether you’re a leader, executive, founder, educator, or changemaker, Spacious Success is here to remind you: ✨ You don’t have to choose between ambition and alignment. ✨ You can be excellent without being always-on. ✨ You can lead and live without losing yourself. We’ll explore topics like: • How to thrive in a digitally-demanding world • The nervous system science behind burnout and performance • Redefining success in leadership, motherhood, and midlife • Navigating the invisible load at home and work • Creating boundaries that actually serve you • Women’s health and hormones in high-pressure roles • Recovery, rest and resilience in real life Plus, you’ll hear from inspiring guests, thought leaders, experts, creatives and high-performing women, who are rewriting the rules and reclaiming what success looks and feels like. 🎧 Hit follow and join the movement toward a more spacious, sustainable, and human way to work and live. Because you weren’t meant to do it all. You were meant to do what matters, with more ease, energy and spaciousness.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr Kristy Goodwin
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    24
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Dr Kristy Goodwin
  • Show Website
    Spacious Success

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