Confession #3: I slashed my direct report tires. She got a better car than me.
Confessions That Would Cause a Meltdown on LinkedIn.
Welcome to the third edition of “Confessions That Would Cause a Meltdown on LinkedIn.”Where high-functioning women get honest about the mess behind the momentum—and we finally talk about what execution really costs when you’ve made a personality out of being reliable. Some of these confessions are mine. Some belong to my clients. If it hits? It’s yours too.
I didn’t key it.
Didn’t touch the paint.
Just two tires.
Clean. Quick. Quiet.
She’d never know it was me.
But I’d know.
And for once, that felt like control.
I smiled when she pulled in.
Told her the rims were sexy.
Then I walked to my own car, with the check engine light that won’t go away, and thought -she didn’t even have to suffer for it.
I played by the rules.
Late nights. Missed birthdays. The “yes” that should’ve been a no.
The trauma bonding with bosses who weaponized “grit.”
My ROI? A nervous system in shambles.
She played soft.
She won anyway.
And my inner martyr couldn’t take it.
She was younger. Softer. Still asking for approval.
But she didn’t shrink.
And the room made space for her anyway.
That? That’s what pissed me off.
So I did what any high-functioning, emotionally repressed woman might do when envy starts eating through her calendar:
I punished her.
Not publicly. Not directly.
I withheld warmth. I second-guessed her decisions.
I sent feedback with a smile and cc’d our boss.
And yeah, I wanted her stuck.
Not because of the car.
Because she moved through the world like it wouldn’t bite her.
And I was tired of being the one bleeding quietly.
This is what envy looks like when you haven’t healed.
You don’t just feel it.
You act it out.
You weaponize what you were never allowed to want.
Envy doesn’t sit politely.
It festers.
It grows teeth.
And if you’re not careful?
It turns your shame into a weapon—and your brilliance into a blade.
Envy isn’t always passive.
It is about feeling invisible -and doing something you couldn’t take back.
The Anti-Sabotage Ritual
aka: how to confront the part of you that thinks she didn’t earn it
1. Say the real thing out loud
You’re not mad at her.
You’re mad at who she gets to be without apology.
You’re mad that your self-worth still needs receipts.
Name it. That’s where your power starts.
2. Ask your ache what it wants
It’s not really about her influence. Or her car.
It’s about freedom. Agency. Visibility.
You want to feel powerful without apologizing.
Start there.
3. Channel it forward
Sabotage is longing with no structure.
Stop circling her success.
Build your own without needing to look back or around.
You’re not evil.
You’re just tired of clapping for everyone else while shrinking yourself.
That ache you feel?
That’s not bitterness.
That’s buried hunger.
And it’s asking to be seen.
It’s asking you to take the action you’ve been avoiding instead of blaming everyone else for the circumstances of your life.
You need a rhythm that doesn’t collapse every time you feel small.
That’s what we build inside Accountability HQ.
Structure that doesn’t shame you.
Systems that don’t fall apart when your mood does.
A space to execute without performance.
And maybe for once?
A way to win—without wanting to slash someone’s tires to feel seen.
Next week’s confession #4:
I slept my way to the top—and I’d do it again.
(Because no one taught me how to ask for power without offering my body first.)