What if everything you believe about yourself isn't actually true?
In this episode of Best Life By You, Julia sits down with Austra Putnina, mindset resilience coach, sports psychologist, and host of the Chase the Impossible and Wisdom in Action podcasts — for a raw, deeply personal conversation about identity, self-limiting beliefs, imposter syndrome, and the inner work it takes to build a life that actually fits you.
Austra shares how growing up as an insecure, shy kid in competitive sport led her to psychology at age 12, how back pain became the unlikely doorway to her career, and why she ran a marathon she once believed was physically impossible for her.
Julia and Austra dive into the high achiever's paradox — always striving, rarely receiving — and unpack people-pleasing, masculine energy burnout, and what it really means to spend time with yourself instead of just by yourself.
This episode is for anyone who feels like they don't quite fit in, who gives everything to others but struggles to ask for help, and who's ready to challenge the stories they've been telling themselves for years.
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Connect with Austra Putnina:
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austra.putnina/
▶ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@austraputnina
🎙 Chase the Impossible (Apple): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chase-
the-impossible-with-austra-putnina/id1559755391
Chase the Impossible (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/
0z3VBf1cUkYpnSzvOMsVLd
Wisdom In Action (Apple): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-in-
action-podcast/id1828259213
Wisdom In Action (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/
15OIwFNqtJRuscgALldbN1
📸Chase the Impossible Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chasetheimpossiblepodcast/
CONNECT WITH JULIA:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/julia_bestlifebyyou/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@juliafurlipa
Best Life By You App: https://bestlifebyyoutracker.replit.app/
Work with Julia: https://www.bestlifebyyou.com/
Book: https://amzn.to/4rM6HpY
Chapters
00:00 – Intro: Prove Yourself Wrong
01:33 – Welcome to Best Life By You
01:46 – Meet Austra Putnina: Mindset Coach & Sports Psychologist
03:37 – How the Path Chose Her: Growing Up Insecure & Driven
05:42 – Back Pain, Books & Moving to the UK
06:20 – Who Austra Coaches: High Performers & Stuck Experts
08:00 – Spending Time WITH Yourself vs. BY Yourself
09:20 – Bridging the Gap Between Knowing and Doing
10:50 – Imposter Syndrome: Julia's Story with NBA Clients
12:24 – Comparing Your Day 50 to Someone's Day 1,500
15:18 – Isolation, Community & Finding Your People
17:44 – You Can Care from a Distance
19:20 – Staying True to Yourself Under Social Pressure
21:34 – Why High Achievers Struggle to Ask for Help
26:05 – Masculine Energy, Receiving & the Nervous System
28:25 – Running a Marathon She Was Told Was Impossible
33:31 – Learning What Friendship Really Is
35:00 – Living in Masculine Energy & Learning to Receive
38:30 – How NOT Asking for Help Robs Others of Joy
44:54 – Transactional Upbringings & Cultural Patterns
46:58 – Learning Through Osmosis: Changing by Observing Others
50:59 – The Two Podcasts: Chase the Impossible & Wisdom in Action
59:15 – Outgrowing People Without Cutting Them Off
01:04:21 – Trust the Path & Attract Your People
01:07:39 – Grieving the Potential of a Friendship
01:12:06 – Austra's Advice: Approach Life with Curiosity
01:15:29 – Challenge What You Believe About Yourself
01:17:00 – Priorities, Bodybuilding & Letting Goals Evolve
01:20:39 – Closing: We're All Human
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