In this deeply personal and insight-packed solo episode, Kristen shares a powerful reflection on what she calls “dumpster decisions”—those all-or-nothing moves we make when we’re on the brink of burnout or buried in overwhelm. Drawing from her own journey of business pivots, personal healing, and rediscovery, Kristen opens up about how she threw away more than she needed to, only to later return and reclaim what still sparked joy.

She walks listeners through the difference between rage cleaning your life and intentionally evaluating what still serves your evolving self. Along the way, she delivers relatable stories, thoughtful metaphors (hello, Marie Kondo and Harry Potter’s phoenix!), and a massive announcement that longtime listeners will love.

Spoiler alert: She's officially back in the weekly coaching chair—and you’re invited.

• What “dumpster decisions” are and why we make them during burnout
• How Kristen’s business and personal life were shaped by burnout recovery
• The importance of honoring your evolution without shame
• How your nervous system holds the key to better habits, performance, and joy
• The birth of Sondera, Kristen’s newest company helping people regulate, realign, and rise
• A sneak peek into the tools, coaching, and transformation waiting inside her new membership
• The full-circle moment: Kristen’s return to live weekly coaching (and how you can join!)

• Burnout doesn’t always mean burning everything down.
• Regulating your nervous system is the missing link between knowing what to do and actually doing it.
• Sometimes, the things you walked away from still belong with you—you just needed space to see it.
• Sustainable success is rooted in self-awareness, alignment, and nervous system integration.

Kristen is back in the coaching seat! Starting November, we’re offering a new membership tier called the Sondera Signature Membership and it includes LIVE weekly coaching with Kristen. If you’ve ever wanted direct guidance beyond the strategy—this is your moment.

Join before November 1st to lock in the special pricing: Sondera Signature Membership

Just want the DIY Sondera Membership? Click here!

00:00 – Welcome + a teaser about a big reveal

02:00 – Rage cleaning, burnout, and personal “dumpster decisions”

06:30 – The Marie Kondo method for life clarity

11:00 – When everything you built no longer fits

14:00 – The myth of business vs. life separation

20:00 – The real gap: strategy vs. nervous system regulation

27:00 – The story behind Sonder Era and what it helps people do

34:00 – A return to coaching & why Kristen is more lit up than ever

39:00 – Final encouragements + how to join before November 1st

Episode Overview

In this powerful episode, Kristen explores a deeper layer of hustle culture—one most people never identify: hustle as a survival response. Drawing from personal experiences, trauma-informed coaching, and neuroscience, she unpacks how our nervous systems are often running the show without us even realizing it.

You’ll learn why high-performers hit burnout despite consuming all the right strategies, and how unaddressed stress patterns are sabotaging our leadership, productivity, and peace. Kristen also introduces the four main survival responses (fight, flight, freeze, and fawn) and how they show up in real life, business, parenting, and more.

Whether you feel stuck in cycles of burnout, perfectionism, or chronic overworking—this episode will help you understand the real driver behind those patterns and how to finally change them.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• Why hustle is often a survival strategy, not a strategy for success
• The neuroscience behind why we freeze, overwork, or people-please under stress
• How early childhood experiences shaped your default stress response
• The difference between reaction and response—and why it matters
• Why information alone isn’t enough: the gap between knowledge and action
• How to begin regulating your nervous system in real-time

Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: Life as a sideline sports mom

02:00 – Recapping the three-part healing series

03:30 – The survival response hidden inside hustle culture

04:35 – Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and how it shows up in business

05:28 – The real reason we stay stuck in reactivity loops

06:35 – Looking for security in external outcomes (and why it backfires)

07:30 – Childhood experiences that shaped our nervous systems

08:20 – Example: scarcity, chaos, and “fighting for the meat”

10:00 – Why children default to shame without external narration

11:00 – How childhood survival strategies bleed into adulthood

12:00 – What your frontal lobe does—and why it goes offline under stress

13:00 – The “infobesity epidemic” and why personal development isn’t working

14:50 – The two speeds we operate in: 0 or 100 mph

15:45 – Nervous system regulation is the real key to high performance

16:30 – What triggers actually feel like in the body (even online)

17:48 – Our brain’s obsession with certainty and black-and-white thinking

19:00 – One grounding question to ask when you’re spiraling

20:25 – Kristen’s own journey with chronic dysregulation and burnout

21:27 – The four major nervous system stress responses explained

22:30 – Fight: control as a form of safety

23:34 – Freeze: perfectionism, overthinking, and inability to start

24:30 – Fawn: people-pleasing as emotional self-preservation

25:45 – How to create safety for others with different responses

26:20 – Social media and collective dysregulation

27:15 – Rear lobe vs. frontal lobe thinking

28:00 – From reaction to conscious response: the real work

29:10 – One simple regulation tool to start using today

30:00 – Regulating ≠ never being triggered—it’s about knowing what to do

31:00 – Why this conversation is the future of personal development

32:03 – Take the new stress type quiz + download the full 26-page report

Key Takeaways

• Most people are unknowingly operating from survival mode every day
• Your nervous system is either helping or hijacking your decision-making
• High performers are often stuck in hustle loops not from laziness, but from dysregulation
• True transformation doesn’t happen from learning more—it happens when we can apply what we know, and...

Episode Overview

In the final installment of her vulnerable three-part series, Kristen continues to unpack the emotional, spiritual, and professional journey she’s been on over the past year. Picking up where she left off—at rock bottom—Kristen shares what happened after taking radical responsibility for her actions and stepping away from the business that made her a household name in social selling.

She explores the deep healing work she’s done through therapy, a transformational retreat, and a season of radical stillness...before realizing that healing often intensifies when we start building again. Kristen discusses the creation of Sondera, her new company focused on nervous system regulation, and how the entrepreneurial process is offering her the most humbling and redemptive growth of all.

This is not a polished comeback. This is the messy middle—where ego dies, faith grows, and identity is rebuilt.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• Why healing often accelerates in the process of building something new
• How nervous system dysregulation can sabotage success
• The dangers of attaching self-worth to productivity and platform
• Why Kristen walked away from a wildly successful business
• The origin story of Sondera and what it’s really about
• Why your internal safety matters more than external security

Key Takeaways

• Healing is not linear. Kristen thought peace would come from stillness. But it came through risk, exposure, and being seen in a new way.
• Burnout is more than overwork. Chronic nervous system dysregulation—not just hours worked—was what broke Kristen down.
• Success doesn’t mean alignment. Kristen shares how she knew she was out of alignment even though her business was thriving on the surface.
• Redemption is found in transparency. Instead of disappearing and re-emerging perfectly polished, Kristen invites her audience into the real-time journey.
• Your body tells the truth. Learning how her stress response (flight) controlled her behavior helped her take back agency and make healthier decisions.

Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: “I see you with brand new eyes.”

01:20 – Recapping Part 2: Hitting bottom and coming home

03:00 – The power of bringing your story into the light

05:00 – Deep therapy and emotional healing at Onsite

06:15 – Feeling disillusioned with her former business model

07:10 – Launching “Beyond the Business” coaching calls

08:00 – The agonizing decision to shut down her signature programs

09:45 – Stewarding success well in seasons of plenty

11:00 – Letting go of external validation and facing public perception

12:30 – The fantasy of a “quiet, offline life” vs. the call to rebuild

15:00 – Discovering nervous system regulation as the missing link

17:00 – Fight, flight, freeze, and fawn: how they show up in your business

20:00 – Why she mistook her chronic stress for ambition

23:30 – Understanding burnout through the lens of dysregulation

25:10 – Building Sondera: from idea to messy execution

26:30 – Why healing happened through building, not before it

29:00 – Learning to express vulnerability to her husband

31:00 – Letting go of ego, hustle, and performance-driven identity

33:00 – Creating Sondera as a redemptive act

34:30 – Reconnecting with her story and reclaiming her voice

36:00 – An invitation to listeners: look for the growth in your own build

39:00 – Next up: nervous system regulation and what it means in daily life

Resources & Mentions

• Kristen’s New Company: