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. 13 | We Don't Have an Ambition Gap. We Have a Wellbeing Gap.

    3D AGO

    13 | We Don't Have an Ambition Gap. We Have a Wellbeing Gap.

    Smart, successful women are half-joking about becoming trad wives. And while the joke gets a laugh, the data behind it is not funny at all. In this episode, I want to challenge the narrative that high-performing women are losing their ambition. The research tells a different story. Women are not leaning out because they want less. They are leaning out because the current model of success is biologically incompatible with the way women are wired, and they are doing the maths. I walk through what the numbers are actually showing, from the McKinsey and LeanIn.Org Women in the Workplace 2025 report to the GLWS Gender Wellbeing Gap 2025 findings, and I explain why the trad wife trend is not a retreat from ambition. It is a symptom of a system that has never adapted to the women now running it. We also go into the neuroscience of why sustained overload degrades performance at a biological level, why women in leadership are carrying a compounded cognitive load, and what the data says organisations need to change if they want to stop losing their best people. The episode closes with a practical Power-Up: how to name your own Success Tax calculation and start making intentional decisions about what you are and are not willing to pay. If you lead people, this is the conversation your organisation needs to be having. If you are one of those people, this episode will give you language for something you have probably been feeling for a long time. Inquire about Dr Kristy speaking at your event: https://drkristygoodwin.com/speaking/  REFERENCES Arkinstall, C., & McGibbon, A. (2025). The Gender Wellbeing Gap 2025: A GLWS Insights Paper. Global Leadership Wellbeing Solutions. https://www.glwswellbeing.com/genderwellbeinggap/ Australian Government Office for Women. (2025). Status of Women Report Card 2025. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. https://genderequality.gov.au/status-women-report-cards/2025-report-card Deloitte. (2025). Women at work: A global outlook. https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/issues/work/content/women-at-work-global-outlook.html McKinsey & Company, & LeanIn.Org. (2025). Women in the workplace 2025. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace Women's Agenda. (2025). The 2025 Women's Ambition Report. https://womensagenda.com.au/ USA Today. (2026, January 29). More women are leaving the workforce. Caregiving and childcare costs are key reasons. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2026/01/29/women-leaving-workforce-caregiving-responsibilities/88370584007/

    20 min
  2. 012 | Peak-Performance Without Burnout: What Corporate Women Need to Know with Andrea Culligan

    APR 30

    012 | Peak-Performance Without Burnout: What Corporate Women Need to Know with Andrea Culligan

    What does success really look like when you strip away the titles, the pressure and the constant push for more? In this episode, I sit down with Andrea, Sydney Managing Partner at Deloitte Australia, for a powerful and deeply honest conversation about burnout, panic disorder and the hidden cost of high-achievement. Andrea shares what it looks like to succeed on paper while quietly running on empty, the moment that changed everything and how she rebuilt her life and leadership in a way that supports sustainable peak-performance. We explore: The reality of burnout in senior leadership Why high performers ignore their capacity until their body forces a reset The difference between achievement and meaningful success How to navigate seasons of life without trying to do it all at once Why well-being can become another pressure point and how to avoid it The role of relationships, boundaries and energy management in long-term success If you have ever wondered “is there a way to succeed without burning out?” this conversation will give you a new lens. Listen now.

    41 min
  3. 011 | Your FQ Matters More Than IQ – Mastering the New Currency of Success

    APR 23

    011 | Your FQ Matters More Than IQ – Mastering the New Currency of Success

    I used to think distraction was a discipline problem. That I just needed to try harder, be better, be more focused. But one moment changed everything. In this episode, I share a deeply personal story that became the catalyst for my research into attention, distraction and the digital world we are all trying to function in. If you feel scattered, overwhelmed or like your day disappears into emails and notifications, this is not a personal failure. I unpack why your attention is under constant attack, how it is impacting your peak-performance and what you can do to start reclaiming your focus in a world designed to hijack it. Listen now.

    14 min
  4. 010 | Cold Plunges for Women – What No One’s Telling You

    APR 16

    010 | Cold Plunges for Women – What No One’s Telling You

    The cold plunge trend is everywhere right now… but is it actually right for women? In this episode of Spacious Success, we unpack the science behind cold exposure and why what works for men doesn’t always work for female physiology. If you’ve ever tried an ice bath and felt more stressed instead of energised, you’re not imagining it. We explore: Why extreme cold can spike cortisol in women The actual temperature sweet spot for benefits Simple, realistic ways to use cold exposure (without turning your morning into a Navy SEAL audition) Plus, practical alternatives if cold plunging just isn’t your thing. If you’re a high-achieving woman already managing a full plate, this is about working with your body, not against it. Listen now.

    13 min
  5. 09 | Wide Awake at 2:22am? Why Women Are Struggling With Sleep (and What to Do About It)

    APR 10

    09 | Wide Awake at 2:22am? Why Women Are Struggling With Sleep (and What to Do About It)

    Why does sleep suddenly feel so hard? If you’re waking at 2:22 a.m. with a racing mind, lying there exhausted but wired, this episode will feel uncomfortably familiar and deeply reassuring. I unpack why so many high-performing women are struggling with sleep and why it’s not a personal failure. It’s biology colliding with modern life. We explore the real drivers behind disrupted sleep, from hormonal shifts to cortisol overload, and why your brain won’t simply switch off on demand. Most importantly, I share practical, science-backed strategies you can use in real time when sleep goes sideways and how to function the next day when the show must go on. This is your permission slip to stop pushing through and start working with your biology, not against it. Listen now.

    17 min
  6. 08 | Your Brain Isn’t Broken: The Truth About "Baby Brain", "Brain Fog" & the Female Brain

    APR 2

    08 | Your Brain Isn’t Broken: The Truth About "Baby Brain", "Brain Fog" & the Female Brain

    What if the story you’ve been told about your brain…. is wrong? In this episode, I sit down with neuroscientist and science communicator Dr Sarah McKay to unpack what’s really happening in the female brain across life’s most misunderstood transitions. From puberty to pregnancy, matrescence to menopause, we explore why these phases are not signs of decline, but powerful periods of adaptation, reorganisation, and growth. We challenge the “baby brain” narrative, unpack the mental load women carry, and take a clear, evidence-based lens to the neuroscience headlines flooding your social feeds. If you’ve ever found yourself thinking ‘why can’t I cope like I used to?’ and ‘is something wrong with me?’.  This conversation will change the way you see your brain, your capacity, and yourself. This is not about deficits.  It’s about understanding. Listen now.

    58 min
  7. 07 | Productivity Hijackers – Why Working Harder Isn’t Working

    MAR 26

    07 | Productivity Hijackers – Why Working Harder Isn’t Working

    We’ve been sold a productivity myth for decades. If you want to get more done you should multitask. Juggle more. Move faster. But neuroscience tells a very different story. In this episode of Spacious Success I bust the myth that multitasking equals productivity and explain what is really happening in your brain when you constantly switch tasks. I take you inside a very familiar workday. One filled with inbox triage, Slack messages, quick replies and meetings that leave you feeling busy but strangely unproductive. In this episode I explore the four biggest productivity hijackers including constant context switching, always-on culture, “attention residue” and productivity theatre. I also unpack what the science says about focus including the limited daily capacity of your prefrontal cortex, why interruptions destroy deep work and how the dopamine loop keeps many of us stuck in reaction mode. Most importantly I share practical ways to recalibrate your workday so you can reclaim your focus, your time and your peak-performance. Because productivity is not about doing more. It is about doing what matters when your brain is best equipped to do it. Listen now.

    11 min
  8. 06 | The Performance Paradox – How to Stay Sharp Without Burning Out

    MAR 19

    06 | The Performance Paradox – How to Stay Sharp Without Burning Out

    In this episode, I’m unpacking what’s referred to as the “Performance Paradox” and why so many high-achieving women are doing all the “right” high-performance habits and still feeling exhausted, distracted and flat. I share the story of Jess, an executive coaching client who looked successful from the outside. She was waking at 5am, journaling, ice bathing, lifting heavy, optimising supplements, ticking every box the performance world tells us to tick. But behind the performance mask? Chaos. Poor sleep. High stress. Constant survival mode. The problem wasn’t effort. It was misalignment. Peak-performance isn’t about hacks. It’s about working with your biology, your Human Operating System. In this episode, I break down the three pillars of my Flourishing Formula: building stress adaptability, optimising your Focus Quotient (FQ) and reframing recovery as a performance strategy, not a reward. You don’t need an overhaul. You need micro-shifts that compound. True peak-performance isn’t about grinding harder. It’s about rhythms, recovery and inputs that sustain you. Listen now.

    11 min
See All (15)

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
    2K
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Dr Kristy Goodwin
  • Show Website
    Spacious Success

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