What happens when a high-achieving career takes over and squeezes out everything you love? Laura Kurup spent years as a tech executive — Chief Strategy Officer at the SEC, Chief Data Officer at the New York Fed — and somewhere along the way, the river took a backseat. Then came a rare breast cancer diagnosis at 40 that turned her entire life upside down. In this episode of The Discomfort Zone Podcast, Laura shares how facing her own mortality led her back to whitewater, into ACA instructor certification, and toward a life finally built around what she actually loves — not what looks impressive from the outside. What you’ll learn in this conversation:

• Why high performers often ignore discomfort until it becomes a crisis — and how to work with it at lower levels
• The mental shift that transformed Laura’s paddling on a 24-day Grand Canyon expedition
• How identity attachment quietly limits your growth — on the water and in life
• What “following the bubble line” looks like as a life practice
• Why giving yourself permission to be a beginner again might be the most powerful thing you can do

Whether you paddle or not, this conversation is for anyone who has let life crowd out what matters most — and is ready to find their way back.