What if success wasn’t a scorecard, but a sense of connection? What if the most powerful thing you could do this week was to stop treating life like a zero-sum game?

Ruchika T. Malhotra, author of Uncompete and Inclusion on Purpose, joins us for a conversation about redefining success, rejecting scarcity thinking, and building a life rooted in community.

In this episode of In Confidence, Ruchika and Lisa unpack how to reject competition and the five principles of Uncompete that make confidence feel steadier and more sustainable.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why “success” keeps moving, and how to define it in a way that actually feels like you
• The five principles of Uncompete and how to apply them to your life
• This week’s micro-moment, Worst Case, Best Case, Most Likely: a simple tool to stop catastrophizing and choose your own metrics

If you’re tired of measuring, comparing, and chasing someone else’s definition of winning, this is your permission slip to choose a different path.

Get Your Copy of ⁠Uncompete⁠

00:00 Intro

01:36 Meet Ruchika T. Malhotra

10:12 Uncompete and Rejecting Competition

18:30 The 5 Principles of Uncompete

37:12 Micro-Moment #9 Worst, Best, Most Likely

41:51 Give Someone Else Their Flowers Today

44:41 Outro

46:20 Disclaimer

Welcome to Season 3, the Last Quarter Challenge. Think of it as a training plan for your confidence with weekly micro-moments that ladder up so you enter 2026 stronger than ever.

This week's micro-moment is Worst, Best, Most Likely. When we face uncertainty, our brains tend to jump straight to the worst case and treat it as fact. This practice helps you widen the lens. By naming the worst case, imagining the best case, and grounding yourself in the most likely outcome, you interrupt fear, regain perspective, and create more choices. Perspective itself becomes a confidence practice.

Try it today. Think about one situation that feels uncertain. Write down the worst case, the best case, and the most likely outcome. Notice how your body settles and your thinking becomes clearer when fear is no longer running the show and you're back in control.

00:00 Intro

00:30 Micro-Moment #9: Worst, Best, Most Likely

02:57 The Science of Worst, Best, Most Likely

09:37 Saying It Out Loud or Writing It Down

11:38 How to Practice This Challenge

15:11 Outro

15:37 Disclaimer

• Identify what is worth building on and what needs to change before you set new goals
• Stress test your 2026 plans against your time, energy, and real constraints, so they work in practice, not just on paper
• Eliminate goals that cancel each other out and prioritize the ones that compound
• Decide what deserves your attention this year and what can wait, without constant overwhelm
• Create a plan you can adapt over time instead of abandoning at the first setback

00:00 Intro

02:44 Step 1 - Your Personal Diagnostic

13:38 Step 2 - Brainstorm Your Goals

21:15 Step 3 - Sort Your Goals

25:25 Step 4 - Backward Plan

29:01 Step 5 - Calendar It Out

36:11 Outro

37:10 Disclaimer