Why Rejection Feels So Personal with Anna Holbrook
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What if your loudest critic isn’t out there—but in here? For sensitive professionals, feedback doesn’t always land softly. It reverberates. And when you’re already navigating the vulnerability of putting yourself out there—especially in self-employment—that sensitivity can feel like a weight.
In this episode of The Sensitive Professionals Podcast, I’m joined by Anna Holbrook, an ICF-accredited coach who supports ambitious individuals through personal growth, identity shifts, and self-worth wobbles. With her background in transformative coaching, NLP and money coaching, Anna brings both lived experience and grounded insight to this tender topic.
We’re talking about:
The deeper experience of rejection sensitivity—and why it’s more than “taking things personally”
How past feedback and early conditioning shape how we show up today
Why self-employment often feels more exposing for sensitive types
Strategies for dealing with the silence (or sting) of online sharing
How naming your inner critic (hello, Jeff and Doris) can help you shift the script
If you’ve ever held back from speaking up, posting your work, or sharing an idea in case it gets shut down—this one’s for you.
Resources from this episode
About your host
Hi, I’m Teresa—career coach, ex-corporate insider, and proud sensitive professional.
After 20+ years in high-pressure roles—often as the only woman in the room, quietly absorbing everything while others talked over each other—I know what it’s like to feel out of place in environments that prize boldness over nuance and speed over substance.
But here’s what I discovered: sensitivity wasn’t a weakness—it was my greatest advantage.
Now, I help ambitious, sensitive professionals like you turn struggles into strengths and build careers that feel as good as they look—without burnout, bravado, or trying to be someone you’re not.
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