6h ago

8. What Happens When You Go Back to the Place That Almost Broke You.

Is there a place, a situation, or a version of your life you have been avoiding because going back feels like too much? Seven years ago Bangkok nearly broke me. Second burnout. Seizures almost every night. A broken knee. A life that looked impressive from the outside and felt completely hollow from the inside. And this year, as part of our worldschooling journey, I went back. With my husband and my two boys. And what happened when I did is what this episode is about. Because avoiding the hard place does not protect you. It just keeps you small. In this episode I talk about what real burnout actually feels like from the inside, not the tired kind, the kind where your body starts making decisions for you. Why the places where hard things happened have a way of freezing us at the age we were when it all went wrong. What it felt like to walk streets I had once walked completely lost, this time with the people I love most beside me. And why going back, when you are ready, is one of the most powerful things you can do for yourself. This is not just an episode about Bangkok. It is for every woman who has been avoiding her own version of it. The conversation she keeps putting off. The career she left and feels too ashamed to revisit. The version of herself she abandoned because she felt too broken to go back to. You do not have to have it all figured out before you face the hard place. You just have to be willing. In this episode: What burnout really looks like when it is the real kindWhy we avoid the places and situations that hurt us and what it actually costsThe moment in Bangkok that changed everythingWhy going back does not mean going back to who you werePermission to face the hard thing before you feel readyIf this episode landed for you, share it with a woman you know who has been avoiding her own version of Bangkok. She needs to hear this more than she knows. And if it resonated, I would love to hear from you. Leave a review, send me a message on Instagram, or simply share this episode with one woman who needs it today. Every share helps this podcast reach the woman who is ready to stop avoiding and start moving. Find me at @karadekretser and let me know what your Bangkok is. I read every single message.

12 min

May 25

7. You Have Been Outsourcing Your Decisions to Everyone Except Yourself. Let's Fix That.

You asked your mum. You asked your husband. You asked your best friend, your neighbour, the Facebook group, three people in a networking event and you even asked a stranger. And then you still did not do the thing. Sound familiar? In this episode Kara gets honest about why women starting businesses or making big decisions often have the strategy completely sorted and the confidence completely missing. And why without confidence, nothing moves. Not the business. Not the decisions. Not you. This one is a love letter to the woman who already knows the answer and just needs to learn how to trust it and decide for herself.

14 min

May 18

6. People-Pleasing Is Not Kindness. It Is Control. And I Say That With Love.

This one is definitely NOT going to please everyone. Because people-pleasing feels like one of the nicest things about you. You are thoughtful. You are considerate. You put others first. But in this episode Kara is going to offer you a reframe that might just change everything. People-pleasing is not kindness. It is control. And it has been keeping you small, silent and stuck for a very long time. This is not a judgment. It is an invitation. To see the pattern clearly, understand where it actually came from, and start practising something different. With so much love

13 min

May 11

5. The One with an Inner Critic, A Police Station and an Eviction

Every woman has one. That voice in her head that says who do you think you are, put it away, you are not ready. In this episode Kara introduces you to hers. Her name is La Signora. She is a grumpy Italian nonna on a balcony and she has been living rent free in Kara's head for years. Kara shares the moment she was running past a police station in Noosa, training for a 10km she had signed up for reluctantly, and genuinely considered walking in to report her. This episode will make you laugh, make you think, and give you the one tool that changes everything. You cannot evict a tenant you have not named. Time to meet yours. Does your inner critic have a name? Give it a go, and share your inner critic's name in the comments below. I genuinely want to know!

14 min

May 4

4. The Good Girl Did Everything Right and Still Felt Empty. Sound Familiar?

You did everything right. The grades, the career, the responsible choices — every box ticked, every person proud. And then you arrived at the life that was supposed to feel like the destination, and something felt off. Not ungrateful. Not dramatic. Just quietly, persistently empty. In this episode, Kara gets honest about the good girl role so many high-achieving women have been playing since childhood — often without realising it — and exactly how that same pattern follows you into your business and keeps you stuck. If you are wondering why you delete the video, undercharge, over-deliver and wait to feel ready before you show up, this episode is going to name it for you. The good girl got you here. But she is not who builds what comes next.

17 min

Apr 27

3. I Know I Am the Only One Standing In My Own Way. So Why Am I Still Standing There?

You already know what you need to do. You have known for a while. So why are you still not doing it? In this episode of Permission to Show Up, Women's Empowerment Coach Kara De Kretser speaks directly to the gap that keeps capable, qualified, driven women completely stuck. Not the gap in their knowledge. Not the gap in their strategy. The gap between knowing and doing. And what it actually takes to close it. This is not a mums in business episode. This is a woman episode. Whether you are building a business, thinking about going back to work, staying in a job that is making you miserable, or avoiding a conversation you have needed to have for months, you will hear yourself in this one. Kara opens with something most coaches would never admit. She spent six months not launching this very podcast despite having everything she needed to do it. The topics, the stories, twelve years of material from the United Nations and a life she had completely redesigned from the ground up. And she still waited. Because she was doing the exact thing she coaches women not to do. She shares the moment a client said to her: Kara, I know I am the only one standing in my own way. And the silence that followed. And why that silence contains everything. In this episode Kara covers: - Why awareness alone will never be enough to create real change and what actually fills the gap between knowing and doing. The one thing that separates women who move from women who stay stuck. It is not talent, bravery or readiness. - Why the discomfort of staying still eventually becomes greater than the discomfort of moving and how to use that moment. - The truth about confidence and readiness that nobody tells you. That neither arrives before you act. Both arrive because you did. - Why your children watching you stand in front of your thing without doing it is the most powerful reframe available to any mother. - And the one small thing Kara is asking every listener to do today. Not tomorrow. Today. This episode will make you think. It might make you cry in your car. And it will give you permission to stop waiting for a feeling that was never going to arrive before the action did. This week's permission: you do not need to do the whole thing. You just need to do one thing today. You already know what it is. You knew before she asked. New episodes every week. Subscribe to Permission to Show Up so you never miss one. Connect with Kara at karadekretser.com or on Instagram @karadekretser

14 min

Apr 22

2. What Does Real Confidence Actually Look Like?

Have you ever tried to talk about your business and suddenly felt your voice shrink, a thing of ummm and aaaah coming out whilst you hesitate, your words stumble, and your confidence disappear? You’re not alone, and it’s NOT a business problem. It’s a confidence problem. In this 10–12 minute episode, we break down what real confidence actually looks like for women in business, entrepreneurs and career women who are building something meaningful, but still feel like they’re “not quite there yet.” This episode dives into a relatable, real-life scenario: two women offering the exact same service, but only one wins the client. Why? The answer isn’t experience, strategy, or even skill. It’s confidence, communication, and self-belief. Inside this episode, you’ll learn: Why confidence is not a personality trait (and what it actually is instead)The two foundational elements of confidence: self-trust and self-worthHow breaking promises to yourself is quietly destroying your confidenceWhy you might be undercharging, overdelivering, or holding yourself backA simple, practical way to start sounding more confident immediately when talking about your businessWe also explore two common confidence traps: High self-worth but low self-trust (you believe in your work, but don’t follow through)High self-trust but low self-worth (you work hard, but still feel like it’s never enough)If you’ve ever struggled with imposter syndrome, self-doubt, visibility, or confidently selling your services, this episode will give you a completely new perspective, and a practical way forward. This is not about “faking it till you make it.” It’s about learning how to trust yourself, own your value, and speak about your business with clarity and certainty—even before everything feels perfect. Tune in to learn how to: Build authentic confidence as an entrepreneurCommunicate your value clearly and effectivelyReplace hesitation with grounded self-beliefShow up powerfully in conversations about your business If this episode resonates, send me a DM on Instagram and tell me what feels lower for you right now: self-trust or self-worth? I read every message and will guide you on what to focus on next. And if you know a woman who struggles to speak confidently about her business, share this episode with her. It might be exactly what she needs to hear.

12 min

Apr 19

1. Welcome to My World. Finally.

This podcast nearly did not happen. Not because Kara De Kretser did not have anything to say. Because she was waiting for the perfect name, the right moment and permission from someone else. Sound familiar? In this first episode of Permission to Show Up, Women's Empowerment Coach Kara De Kretser introduces herself, her story and the real reason this podcast finally exists. Kara spent twelve years as a United Nations professional building a career that looked impressive from the outside while quietly burning out on the inside. She was the ultimate people-pleaser and perfectionist until one day she knew she could not do it for one more day. She left, built a consulting, and then a coaching business and now lives a freedom-fuelled life by design and is currently with her husband worldschooling her two boys across the globe. She nearly let perfectionism stop her from launching this very podcast. She caught the pattern, chose differently and pressed record before she was ready. Because that is the whole point. Permission to Show Up is for the Mum in business who has the idea, the drive and everything she needs to make it work. The thing standing in her way is not her business concept. It is fear of judgment, people-pleasing and the terror of what everyone will think if she shows up fully for the business she was brave enough to build. In this episode Kara covers: - Why she nearly did not launch and what made her do it anyway. - Her journey from United Nations professional to Women's Empowerment Coach - Who this podcast is for and what to expect every week. - The first permission of the series. New episodes every week. Subscribe so you never miss one. Connect with Kara at www.karadekretser.com or on Instagram @karadekretser.

12 min

Permission to Show Up

Episodes

8. What Happens When You Go Back to the Place That Almost Broke You.

7. You Have Been Outsourcing Your Decisions to Everyone Except Yourself. Let's Fix That.

6. People-Pleasing Is Not Kindness. It Is Control. And I Say That With Love.

5. The One with an Inner Critic, A Police Station and an Eviction

4. The Good Girl Did Everything Right and Still Felt Empty. Sound Familiar?

3. I Know I Am the Only One Standing In My Own Way. So Why Am I Still Standing There?

2. What Does Real Confidence Actually Look Like?

1. Welcome to My World. Finally.

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