A bold and hilarious breakdown of how shrinking yourself in a corporate environment can accidentally expose the dysfunction at the top. This blog taps into quiet quitting, weaponized mediocrity, and corporate LARPing—while offering a petty, elegant call to reclaim your self-worth.

▶️ [Listen to the Podcast Episode]

📥 [Download the B.R.U.T.A.L. Self-Inventory Workbook]

I fake it—every job I’ve ever had. I’ve faked being dumber than I am. And not in the cute “teehee I don’t get spreadsheets” way. No—I’ve actively shrunk myself, quieted my brilliance, smoothed over the sharp edges of my intelligence so I could survive.
And somehow? They still promoted me.

I was trying to coast. I was dodging burnout. I was camouflaging. But in a system built on performance theater, mediocrity is currency—and I accidentally came off as middle-management gold.

Here’s the truth: corporations don’t reward brilliance. They reward predictability. They reward people who do what they’re told, smile in meetings, and don’t make waves. If you’re inventive, emotionally aware, or 10 steps ahead? You’re a threat.

So yeah, I learned early: don’t outshine your boss. Don’t fix broken processes too fast. Don’t offer the actual solution unless it’s been requested twice. That emotional toll of being underestimated can chip away at you—but it can also become your greatest advantage. 📚 Want a dose of self-recognition while quietly escaping their nonsense? I queued up “The Gift of Being Different” by John Elder Robison on Audible while doing my mid-morning walks. It felt like feeding my brain while my body remembered it still existed.

So this company decides to test us. Not like pop quiz vibes—like “Hunger Games: HR Edition.” Some bogus assessment to “make sure we were in the right roles.” Translation: find out who to fire.

I didn’t study. I didn’t overthink. I answered like someone who knew exactly how dumb they wanted me to be.
Turns out? I scored so well that they offered me a raise and a new title. And it felt like a weird loss. I didn’t want to climb their ladder. I wanted out. But now I had more leverage.

Here’s my actual survival guide:
I fly under the radar.
I send scheduled emails so I look busy.
I’m done with my actual work by 11am.
And no, I’m not a magician—I’m just organized. That’s the scam. If they knew how little time it took to be competent, they’d expect miracles for pennies.

It’s not burnout-proof. But it is boss-repellent.

Maybe you’re too brilliant for your job. Maybe your silence is misread as passivity, your boundaries mistaken for indifference.

But you know better now.

If that’s you? The full breakdown is in the podcast. Laugh, cry, and reclaim your power. You’re not crazy. You’re just in the wrong sandbox.

🎧 Listen to the full episode.

This isn’t motivation—it’s reclamation.  In the debut episode of Honest Pursuits, Cate Brown stops performing for approval and starts designing life on her own terms. She dismantles the myth of “having it all,” calls out success theater for what it is, and lays out the real framework that saved her sanity: B.R.U.T.A.L. = Boundaries, Reinvention, Unlearning, Truth, Accountability, Liberation.
It’s not therapy; it’s a strategy for people who are done shrinking.
Bold, funny, and brutally self-aware—this is your permission slip to stop asking for one.
🎧 Listen now and take your power back.

These aren’t sponsored (yet). They’re survival tools. The emotional duct tape that kept me from throwing my laptop into traffic.

💡 Mentioned in This Episode:

• 🧠 Notion — because apparently “organize your breakdowns” is a productivity hack now.

• 💬 BetterHelp — when you need therapy without the small talk or the pants.

• 📘 Atomic Habits by James Clear — because you can’t manifest your way out of bad habits.

• 🕯️ $6 Lavender Candle (Target) — practically aromatherapy therapy.

We all have one brutal truth we’ve been avoiding. Mine became a podcast. Yours deserves a mic too.

📲 Confess your Brutal Truth.
Slide into the DMs on Instagram @honest.pursuits and drop your confession (anonymous if you want).
We might feature it on the next “Hot Seat Story Night” episode. No judgment. Just honesty with Wi-Fi.

Get Brutal With Yourself →

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