We Said Self-Care, Not Self-Sabotage: How We Learned to Do Less and Do It Better

We’ve all been there. Telling ourselves we’re taking a break for “self-care” when in reality we’re just avoiding everything that actually needs to get done. In Episode 6 of Casting It Out, Josie D-G and Kayla P dig into this all-too-familiar cycle of self-sabotage disguised as rest.

The Illusion of “Treating Ourselves”

From rewriting to-do lists just to feel productive to diving headfirst into impossible routines that end in burnout, we’ve tried it all. It is easy to convince ourselves that scrolling Instagram counts as a reset or that buying something shiny is a legitimate reward. But often, this “self-care” is just procrastination in disguise, a way to avoid the emails, workouts, or tasks we have been putting off for weeks.

Facing the Mess We’ve Been Avoiding

In this episode, we talk about coming home to the things we have been ignoring:

• unread emails piling up

• workouts we overdid once and never touched again

• big goals that felt too intimidating to start small

We explore how we keep setting unreasonable expectations for ourselves, only to wonder why we fail. The truth is, when we focus on doing one thing at a time instead of trying to fix everything at once, it actually feels good. Small wins build confidence, clarity, and momentum.

Self-Care vs. Self-Sabotage

This episode is all about the difference between genuinely caring for yourself and unintentionally derailing your progress.

We talk about:

• Why avoidance often masquerades as self-care

• The art of prioritizing what really matters

• Learning to do less but do it better

It is chaotic, honest, and surprisingly relatable for anyone who has ever felt stuck in the trap of doing “all the things” but never actually finishing any of them.

Why This Matters

Breaking the cycle of self-sabotage is not about being perfect. It is about recognizing the patterns we fall into, slowing down, and giving ourselves permission to focus on what truly matters. By learning to approach self-care with intention, we can actually feel rested, accomplished, and empowered instead of stressed and behind.

Listen to the full episode: castingitout.com/episodes

Casting It Out is a Nashville-based podcast about the chaos of womanhood, reinvention, and existing outside expectations.