There is a version of success that so many women were taught to chase.
Climb the corporate ladder.
Raise the kids.
Respond to the emails.
Show up to the meeting.
Make dinner.
Keep everyone happy.
And somehow still be fully present through all of it.
A lot of high-achieving women are carrying that pressure every single day while trying to prove they can do it all.
It starts to feel like they’re rushing through the moments they want to savor while carrying a level of stress their body can’t sustain.
In this episode of Kitchen Island Headquarters, I sat down with Kristy Kilduff to talk about burnout, nervous system regulation, motherhood, ambition, and what it actually looks like to build a life that feels aligned instead of constantly overwhelming.
After nearly 20 years climbing the corporate ladder, Kristy built a successful career in sales leadership while also raising three young children. But after stepping into a new high-pressure role in 2024, she hit a breaking point. Burnt out, disconnected, and constantly carrying pressure, she realized she could no longer keep living in survival mode.
That experience eventually led her to create Awakened Achiever, a wellness community designed to help high-achieving women reconnect with themselves, regulate their nervous systems, and create lives that feel more peaceful, present, and sustainable without giving up their ambition.
Listen on your favorite podcast player:
The Pressure High-Achieving Women Carry
From the outside, it looked like Kristy achieved success. She was growing her career, growing her family, and managing it all. But what couldn’t be seen on the outside was that she was completely burned out.
After taking a new corporate role in 2024, the pressure became overwhelming. Within just a few months, she hit what she describes as her nervous breakdown. She got caught up in in the story that she should do everything all at once.
And honestly, so many women resonate with that feeling.
Especially mothers. You want your business, your ambition, to have flexibility, to be present for your kids… And somewhere along the line you start feeling like you are failing at everything simultaneously.
Burnout Starts Long Before You See It
One of the most powerful parts of our conversation was when Kristy described what burnout actually felt like for her in her life.
Constant pressure in her chest.
Never feeling present.
Thinking about Slack messages during bath time.
Rushing bedtime stories.
Feeling mentally “somewhere else” all the time.
And I think a lot of women normalize this.
We normalize:
- multitasking constantly
- responding to work late at night
- never mentally shutting off
- always being productive
- living in survival mode
Until we realize: I do not want to keep living like this anymore.
Learning Why She Operated That Way
One thing I love about Kristy and her work is that she doesn’t just talk about surface-level self care.
She looked at the deeper causes of her burnout…
The perfectionism.
The people pleasing.
The pressure to constantly prove herself.
The inability to rest without guilt.
The nervous system dysregulation so many women are carrying every day.
She started exploring mindfulness, meditation, breath work, nervous system regulation, and healing modalities that helped her understand why she was operating the way she was.
And through that process, she realized…
Nobody was forcing her to respond to Slack messages at 7 PM.
That pressure was coming from her.
Being Ambitious ≠ Destroying Yourself
One of the biggest takeaways from this episode was:
You do not have to choose between ambition and peace.
You can:
- love your work
- care deeply about your goals
- build a successful business
- be ambitious
And still want:
- rest
- boundaries
- calm
- flexibility
- presence
- time with your family
Those things can exist together.
Kristy talked about how many women were taught to operate entirely in “doing mode.” Constant productivity and proving.
But eventually, all of that “doing” leaves you feeling disconnected from yourself and your life.
Simplifying Nervous System Regulation For Burnout
I love how realistic Kristy was about nervous system regulation.
When we hear “mindfullness” often we go to:
- perfect morning routines
- waking up at 4:30 AM
- meditating for an hour
- having your entire life together
But Kristy shared that sometimes it looks like:
- taking deep breaths in the shower
- noticing your feet on the floor
- going outside for a walk
- smelling flowers
- noticing how your child’s hand feels in yours
- listening to a guided meditation in the car
- sitting quietly for five minutes before your kids wake up
Small moments count and add up. Especially for women whose brains are always moving at full speed.
Our Kids Feel What We Carry
Kristy shared a story about her daughter crying every morning before getting on the bus. At first, she felt frustrated and wanted the behavior to stop. But eventually she realized: her own dysregulation was escalating the situation.
Once she started responding differently, everything shifted. Nobody warns you that so much of parenting is learning in real time how to regulate ourselves while also teaching our children how to process emotions. We are breaking cycles while raising children at the same time.
Redefining Success
Today, Kristy has completely stepped away from corporate life and now runs Awakened Achiever full time.
She defines success differently now.
Less hustle, more self-trust.
Not achieving titles, but staying in alignment.
Less focus on external validation, and more focus on feeling calm and authentic.
One line I’m still thinking about is when she said, “I’m not running away from anything. I’m running toward my truth.”
Let this be your permission slip to believe you can build your life that way, too.
Connect with Kristy
If this conversation resonated with you, I highly recommend connecting with Kristy Kilduff and learning more about her work.
You can find her here:
She currently offers:
- 14- week coaching cohorts
- In-person and virtual experienes
- One-on-one coaching
- Retreats and healing events for women
Building a Business That Supports Your Life
One thing I loved about this conversation with Kristy Kilduff is how much it reinforced something I believe deeply too: Your business should support your life, not consume it.
Doing the work to regulate yourself matters. And so does the way your business is built.
Because when everything in your business lives in your brain, it becomes almost impossible to fully unplug, stay present, or create the balance you actually want.
That’s why I help service providers build streamlined Dubsado systems and client experiences that save time, reduce mental load, and create more breathing room in everyday life.
If you’re ready to stop manually managing every part of your business, you can learn more about working together here:
Let’s Connect:
Kristy’s Website: awakenedachiever.com
Kristy’s Instagram: instagram.com/awakenedachiever
Website: kellymccracken.co
Work with Me: kellymccracken.co/services
Instagram: instagram.com/kellymccracken.co
Podcast Show Notes: kellymccracken.co/podcast
Your expertise belongs in your craft more than your CRM. Bringing in a pro to do the strategic thinking and heavy lifting means that you’re never stuck Googling, experimenting, or muddling through something that only kind of works.
When you book a Dubsado setup for your business, we get to skip right over any implementation growing pains or learning just for learning’s sake. As a Certified Dubsado Specialist, I build exactly what you need, and then show you exactly what you need to do to keep the system running smoothly.
