Season 2, Episode 4 - “What You Avoid Ends Up Controlling You: Why Fear, Shame, and Procrastination Hold the Wheel”

What you avoid ends up controlling you.

That email you don’t send.
That decision you keep pushing aside.
That conversation you keep dodging.

Avoidance feels like relief in the moment but it’s actually fear training your subconscious. Every time you run from discomfort, your brain learns to treat it like danger. And that means fear, shame, procrastination, and resentment quietly take the wheel of your life.

In this powerful episode of Overflow, mindset and identity coach Shana Kad breaks down why avoidance holds so much power, how the subconscious mind uses the rule of least resistance to keep you stuck in the familiar, and why “familiar” often feels safer than the change you crave.

You’ll also discover how your brain doesn’t react to reality, but to the meanings and stories you’ve attached to events. That pitch, that phone call, that risk, it isn’t rejection or failure, but if your subconscious has coded it that way, you’ll keep avoiding it as if it were guaranteed pain.

✨ Inside this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why avoidance feels safe but actually strengthens fear, shame, and procrastination.
  
  
• How your subconscious mind confuses “familiar” with “safe.”
  
  
• The truth about how much ideas and meanings shape your fear responses.
  
  
• A practical exercise to map out what you’re avoiding and see clearly what it’s costing you.
  
  
• How to question fear, replace outdated stories with truth, and take back control of your choices.
  
  

Exercise of the week: The Avoidance Map
Shana guides you through a thought-provoking practice that shows you exactly what you’re avoiding, the hidden costs it’s creating in your life, and how to rewrite the subconscious stories that keep you playing small.

Because what you avoid doesn’t disappear, it becomes the invisible script directing your life. But the moment you face it? You retrain your brain, reclaim your power, and open the door to freedom.

Want to share your thoughts, questions, or future topic requests?
Email Shana at ⁠⁠coaching@shanakad.com⁠⁠

Access free mindset guides, journaling prompts, and audio visualisations to support your clarity and emotional wellbeing:
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Overflow is the podcast for thoughtful minds who overthink, feel stuck, and are ready to break free from burnout and second-guessing.

Hosted by mindset and identity coach Shana Kad, each episode delivers grounded, actionable tools to help you shift emotional spirals fast, reconnect with self-trust, and move from purpose to prosperity.