How High Achievement May Be a Trauma Response

The InspirED Podcast: Creating Shifts That Lead to Income and Freedom · Sep 17, 2026 · 19m

What if some of the qualities you're most proud of; your ambition, work ethic, independence, relentless drive, even your ability to accomplish extraordinary things, didn't begin entirely as ambition?

What if achievement became one of the ways you learned to feel seen, safe, valued, or loved?

In this solo episode of the InspirED Podcast, Andrea De La Cerda explores a question that has become increasingly personal for her: How much of our ambition comes from genuine desire, and how much comes from trying to prove that we're worthy?

This isn't an argument that high achievement is inherently…