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You're Not Underpaid, You're Afraid w/ Nidhi Tewari | Ep 456

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Oct 21, 2026

Guest

Nidhi Tewari

Nidhi Tewari, licensed clinical social worker, executive coach, and author of Working Well, explores why creatives undercharge. They unpack limiting beliefs, rejection, shame, and avoidance, then dive into sales traps, relational selling, boundaries, and the art of staying connected without discounting. A candid conversation about reading client cues, asking better questions, and building confidence around your fees.

34:36

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ANECDOTE

The Career Nidhi Had To Prove Was Legitimate

Nidhi Tewari’s immigrant family considered doctor, lawyer, or engineer the only acceptable careers.
When she became a therapist, she had to prove both her capability and the career’s financial legitimacy.

insights

INSIGHT

Why Rejection Makes Creatives Play Small

Rejection hurts because disappointment activates primal fears about belonging, importance, and personal worth.
Repeated rejection can make creatives play small precisely when bigger opportunities require entering unfamiliar arenas.

insights

INSIGHT

How Rejection Turns Into Shame

Rejection becomes especially damaging when people interpret a denied request as evidence that they are bad or unworthy.
That interpretation produces shame, which can freeze action more powerfully than disappointment alone.

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Limiting Beliefs Shape Creative Pricing

00:23 • 4min

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Rejection, Shame, and Playing Small

04:41 • 6min

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Self-Awareness Breaks Avoidance Cycles

10:18 • 5min

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Attunement Makes Sales More Relevant

Fixers, Avoiders, and Misguided Connectors

18:19 • 2min

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Professional Relationships Preserve Fee Integrity

19:59 • 5min

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Explorers Ask Before They Solve

24:43 • 3min

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Setting Boundaries Without Losing Connection

27:21 • 4min

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The Four Domains of Attunement

31:00 • 2min

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Uncovering Hidden Sales Objections

• Mentioned in 4 episodes

Working Well

Nidhi Tewari

In Working Well, Nidhi Tewari combines clinical experience and organizational research to show how physiology and relational dynamics shape sustainable performance. The book teaches self-leadership—recognizing triggers, regulating the nervous system, and naming emotions—before extending that attunement to connect with colleagues. It offers practical frameworks (like RESET) and communication guidance to improve psychological safety, reduce isolation-driven burnout, and foster productive workplace relationships. Tewari emphasizes that many burnout solutions fail because they focus on individuals rather than systemic drivers such as unclear expectations and lack of trust. The book is aimed at leaders and professionals seeking actionable tools to integrate wellbeing into everyday work.

Most creatives think their pricing problem is a pricing problem. Nidhi Tewari, LCSW and author of Working Well, says it starts much earlier, in the messages you absorbed about whether this career was ever going to pay. She and Chris trace how old rejection turns into shame, and how shame quietly shows up in the way you pitch, negotiate, and discount. From there it gets practical: the three traps in a sales conversation, fixers, avoiders, and connectors, what an explorer does instead, and the four domains of attunement she calls FRSC. Chris pushes back hard on the word relational, and the disagreement is the best part. If you keep saying yes to a lower fee, this one's for you.

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Intro

(00:24) - Where Limiting Beliefs Start

(03:00) - Social Expectations and Career Limiting Beliefs

(03:57) - Proving Yourself to Your Parents

(04:48) - Why a No Hurts So Much

(08:43) - Rejection and Shame Are Cousins

(10:57) - Avoidance Is the Real Blocker

(15:27) - Relational Selling vs. Transactional Selling

(16:01) - Connection Gaps in Sales Calls

(18:37) - Fixers, Avoiders, and Connectors

(20:34) - Maintaining Your Fee and Boundaries