How can you pursue meaningful goals without getting caught in stressful striving? How can you aim high without burning out? We all want to be successful and achieve our goals, but when our striving is driven by experiential avoidance, sometimes, our pursuits can lead to feeling dissatisfied, depleted, and burnout. In this episode, Diana shares a talk she gave to a group of high-achieving women attorneys of the Women’s Mentoring Circles Program. She explores signs of unhealthy striving and shows you how to use fierce self-compassion, values, and committed action to go from stressful striving to skillful striving. Go here for the handouts that go along with this talk.

Related Resources

Get enhanced show notes for this episode

• Order my book, Wise Effort: How to Focus Your Genius Energy on What Matters Most, and receive special bonus gifts.
• Want to become more psychologically flexible? Take Diana's "Foundations of ACT" course.

Diana's Events

• Reserve your spot in Diana's Costa Rica retreat in 2026!
• See Diana at an upcoming event

Connecting With Diana

• Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
• Leave a 5-star review on Apple so people like you can find the show.
• Sign up for the free Wise Effort Newsletter.
• Become a Wise Effort member to support the show.
• Follow Diana on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Diana’s website.

Thanks to the team, Craig and Ashley Hiatt, and Benjamin Gould of Bell & Branch for your beautiful music.