Unlearning Success: How Your Body Knew Before Your Brain Did
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
I recently sat down with my friend Lesley Turner for her podcast, The Intuitive Drop, and honestly? It was one of those conversations where I didn't realize how much I was still carrying until I started talking about it.
We covered a lot of ground—what success was supposed to look like growing up South Asian, why I'm finally embracing the colour pink (even though I was told "strong women don't like pink"), and the moment my dad knew I needed to leave my toxic workplace before I did.
But the story that still sits with me is this:
When my grandmother passed away—the woman who lived with me my whole life, who was like a second mother—my mom told me to go to my big meeting first, then come home for the rituals.
I went. And I broke down in tears while I was there.
That was the immigrant mindset my parents inherited: push through, don't stop, don't say no to opportunity. They didn't have the privilege of pausing. And they didn't see that privilege in us either.
Here's what I've been unlearning: Not everything has to be an opportunity. Not everything leads somewhere good. And rest isn't a luxury—it's necessary.
A Few Other Things We Talked About:
💪🏾 Why saying no is a full sentence (and why I'm still learning how to do it)
🤎 Why I'm done hiding parts of myself (the South Asian version of me + the Canadian version of me are finally one person)
🎯 How my body knows before my brain does (and every time I ignored that full-body "no," I ended up somewhere I didn't want to be)
🌟 What it really means to build a brand that lasts (spoiler: 90% of my clients come back for brand expansions, not rebrands)
🎙️ The podcast I co-host with Britt Holmes (We'll Circle Back—for founders, by founders, without the BS)
If you're unlearning what success is "supposed" to look like, or if you're finally ready to show up unapologetically, I think you'll really connect with this episode.
It's honest. It's vulnerable. And it's the kind of conversation I wish I'd heard when I was in my mid-20s questioning everything.
🎙️ Listen to the Full Episode
Available on all podcast platforms.
A few of my favorite quotes from the episode:
"I'm living this parallel of yes, I'm gonna take the advice from my parents, but I'm also gonna follow this intuition that is led by this six-year-old version of me that was told to be quiet. I'm tired of being quiet."
"My body knows before my mind does."
"I'm really trying to dive deep into your soul in a way, because I want to pull the website and the branding that's timeless."
Listen. Let me know what resonates. And if you're ready to build a brand that reflects the version of yourself you're stepping into—not the one you're leaving behind—let's talk. 🙌🏾
