This week, we’re tackling one of the sneakiest habits high-functioning overthinkers fall into: making everything harder than it needs to be.

From your day-to-day to your biggest goals, overcomplicating your plans might be costing you time, energy, and results — and today, I’m showing you how to stop.

I’m walking you through two real-life examples (one goal-oriented, one daily-life related), and giving you the two HQQs (high-quality questions) I use with clients to simplify any decision or plan.

Because yes: you can want high-quality results AND things to be easier at the same time!

Here's where we go:

• Why smart, capable people default to making things harder
• The hidden cost of overcomplicated plans
• How to spot when you’re spiraling in decision-making
• Two questions to simplify any plan
• A whole lot of permission to do it the easier way

🚨 Stop the Spiral Workshop – happening June 26!

Join me live to learn the exact method I teach clients to interrupt overthinking, simplify hard decisions, and create faster, calmer clarity — on the spot.
💸 Early bird: $20 off through June 9, 2025
🎟️ Get your ticket now!: https://kirstenparker.com/spiral

LINKS!

• What's your DECISION STYLE? Take the Quiz!
• Need to say NO? Here's your 11-minute Crash Course on Saying NO Guilt-Free.
• Find out how Decision Coaching will make your whole life easier

What happens when a former anxious overthinker goes to London with no plan?

This week, I’m walking you through the real-life experiment I ran last month: a 4-day solo trip to London with one plan (see the Harry Potter show) and zero itinerary. My goal? To enjoy myself without burning brain energy on constant second-guessing or planning every minute of the day.

In this episode, I’m sharing the decision-making strategies I used before, during, and after the trip to:

• Avoid regret

• Reduce friction

• Feel present

• Make quick, clear choices (even when I wasn’t sure what I wanted)

But this isn’t just for travel: If you’re someone who struggles with overthinking daily decisions or wants to stop wasting mental energy on what-if spirals, this episode will help you rethink how you make choices — and how to support yourself better while doing it.

We talk about:

• Why clarifying your intentions before any big decision helps everything feel easier

• How to set parameters and use "decisions in advance" to avoid getting stuck

• What happens when you affirm your choices once you make them

• What to do when you genuinely don’t know what you want

• How to limit your options in a way that actually feels freeing

Cheerio!

LINKS!
-- What's your DECISION STYLE? Take the Quiz! https://kirstenparker.com/quiz
-- Need to say NO? Here's your 11-minute Crash Course on Saying NO Guilt-Free: https://kirstenparker.com/sayno
-- Find out how Decision Coaching will change your life: https://kirstenparker.com/coaching

Ok so you're an expert second-guesser. I've gotchyoo.

And I've got a super simple solution for you too: You just need to change where your attention goes after you make a decision.

This episode is about one of the most common friction points I help clients with: the habit of second-guessing. It’s not about perfection or not caring about mistakes — it’s about interrupting the spiral of post-decision doubt that keeps you mentally stuck and emotionally drained.

Here’s where we go:

• Why second-guessing has little to do with making the “right / best” choice

• How your post-decision attention makes the difference in your confidence

• What standing by your choices (even imperfect ones) really looks like

If you're constantly revisiting your choices and wondering if you did the “right” thing, this episode is your next decision reset.

LINKS!

• What's your DECISION STYLE? Take the Quiz!
• Need to say NO? Here's your 11-minute Crash Course on Saying NO Guilt-Free.
• There are limited spots open for Private Coaching right now! Book your free no-strings consultation or submit an Inquiry Form to explore what we can do together.

You don’t need to become a ruthless, self-centered robot to start owning what you want.

You do need to stop writing your entire life around other people’s possible reactions.

This episode is a mix of personal reflection (it’s my birthday!🥳), decision coaching gold, and some truth bombs that might hit close to home. Especially if you’ve been unknowingly structuring your choices around approval, avoidance, or keeping the peace.

Here’s where we go:

• The exact spotlight shifts you need to make, to own your decisions

• What “clarity guilt” is — and how to stop letting it drive your choices

• Real-life examples of what it looks like to own what you want (and stop apologizing for it)

If you're tired of mentally managing everyone else's opinions before you even check in with yourself, this one's for you.

LINKS!

• What's your DECISION STYLE? Take the Quiz!
• Need to say NO? Here's your 11-minute Crash Course on Saying NO Guilt-Free.
• There are limited spots open for Private Coaching right now! Book your free no-strings consultation or submit an Inquiry Form to explore what we can do together.

So... I got a tattoo. In a foreign country. On what looked like a whim.

But (spoiler) this episode is about much more than ink.

It’s about what happens when you hit a stretch of life that feels like one transition too many — and how to reclaim your role as the chooser of your own life, even when you can’t control everything happening in it.

Here’s where we go:

• The story behind my “impulse” tattoo and what it taught me about resistance, ownership, and presence

• 3 ways to rethink what it means to “choose” your life — even when parts of it are messy or not what you expected

• How to spot when you’re living out old goals... and how to start deciding on purpose again

This one’s for you if you’re in a season that’s left you feeling detached, foggy, or like your current life is running on decisions Past You made.

You don’t have to climb a mountain to get clarity — I already did that for us.

LINKS!

• What's your DECISION STYLE? Take the Quiz!
• Need to say NO? Here's your 11-minute Crash Course on Saying NO Guilt-Free.
• There are limited spots open for Private Coaching right now! Book your free no-strings consultation or submit an Inquiry Form to explore what we can do together.

If you're already fried and summer hasn’t even started yet...this episode’s for you.

Because May — or Maycember, as some know it — has a way of draining the life out of you with nonstop events, decisions, and that special blend of chaos, guilt, and calendar overload.

Here’s where we go in this episode:

• Spot the invisible energy drains that can make this month feel so heavy

• Get 3 tools to make your decisions way less draining in the season ahead

• Hear my personal approach to calming May chaos

As I share in the episode, this isn’t about doing less - it's about deciding better.

(YES please.)

LINKS!

• What's your DECISION STYLE? Take the Quiz!
• Need to say NO? Here's your 11-minute Crash Course on Saying NO Guilt-Free.
• There are limited spots open for Private Coaching right now! Book your free no-strings consultation to explore what we can do together.

Today, we’re bridging the gap between decisiveness and self-regulation.

Learn how to become a more effective decision-maker by understanding and managing your physiological, mental, and emotional states.

We'll talk about:

• What to do when you have to decide NOW vs. when you can wait
• How you need different self-regulation tools for different states
• Why regularly self-regulating this will make you a more decisive person

LINKS!

• What's your DECISION STYLE? Take the Quiz!
• Need to say NO? Here's your 11-minute Crash Course on Saying NO Guilt-Free.
• There are limited spots open for Private Coaching right now! Book your free no-strings consultation to explore what we can do together.

Ok - negative consequences aren't fun, but the good news is: getting better at dealing with them will help you become more decisive!

Let's talk about the importance of dealing with undesirable outcomes, understanding self-blame, and enhancing emotional processing and stress recovery.

We'll also touch on the need to stay on your own team and embrace regret as part of life's journey. (BOO, I know, but it's true and you know it!)

LINKS!

• What's your DECISION STYLE? Take the Quiz!
• Need to say NO? Here's your 11-minute Crash Course on Saying NO Guilt-Free.
• There are limited spots open for Private Coaching right now! Book your free no-strings consultation to explore what we can do together.