Oprah Winfrey says people-pleasing led her to make a career decision she knew was wrong

Oprah Winfrey revealed during an appearance on The Mel Robbins Podcast that 2012 was one of the worst years of her life because she made a career decision she knew was wrong out of fear of disappointing others. She ignored her intuition and let people-pleasing get in the way, resulting in low ratings and staff cuts at OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, which she launched earlier that year.

Winfrey said she woke up in the middle of the night unable to breathe due to her anger at not trusting her inner voice. She reflected on the regret of not following her instincts and realizing later that she had been driven by the fear of disappointing others rather than her own desires.