ON PURPOSE with Jay Shetty Episode: NOAH KAHAN: Imposter Syndrome, Anxiety & The Pressure of Success (What He’s Never Shared Before) Date: April 6, 2026

Episode Overview

In this emotionally rich and deeply honest conversation, Jay Shetty welcomes singer-songwriter Noah Kahan for a vulnerable exploration of mental health, imposter syndrome, family dynamics, and the creative pressures of sudden fame. With his new Netflix documentary (“Noah: Out of Body”) and highly anticipated album (“The Great Divide”) on the horizon, Noah reflects on his upbringing, struggles with anxiety and OCD, his relationship to creativity—and what it means to be truly seen.

Jay and Noah dig beneath the surface of success, addressing the push and pull between healing and art, family and self, community and inner dialogue. The episode is peppered with memorable, relatable stories, candid admissions, and wisdom from their shared journeys with struggle and self-expression.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Documentary as Self-Discovery & Family Healing

[03:33–05:06]

• Making the Documentary: Noah describes filming as “really therapeutic,” highlighting how rare it is to see your own family from an outside lens.
• Vulnerability on Screen: He shares the challenge of deciding how much to reveal, “Should I talk about this? Should I say this?... Just trying to put away my concerns about how people would perceive me and just try to be myself was like a fun challenge...” (Noah, 04:53)
• Family Reflections: Watching the doc together brought his family closer: “We all are funny and love each other…It helped us kind of actually visualize what it’s like for my dad, for my mom, for all of us...” (Noah, 38:47)

2. Creative Origins, Anxiety, and Childhood

[05:25–09:08]

• Early Musical Roots: The first song Noah learned to sing and play was with his dad at a senior home, a formative moment connecting music, vulnerability, and family.
• Music as Escape and Outlet: As a kid, Noah used songwriting to process “feeling different” and as a safe private space (“Hannah Montana thing”) to wrestle with anxiety outside the expectations of peers.
• Pressure to Be Heard: Middle-child energy and a desire to be heard defined his school days and pursuit of his dreams.

“I literally never, ever thought about anything else besides being a musician.”
— Noah Kahan, [07:40]

3. The Cost of Success: Losing the Private Spark

[10:12–12:36]

• Changing Relationship to Writing: Noah misses the days when “music was just my special little buddy,” and laments how career pressure has complicated his creative process.
• Marketing Vulnerability: “I just always am thinking about it from like…how is this going to move my career forward...How do we market your vulnerability in the next album?” (Noah, 10:12)
• Performative Pressure: The lines blur between authentic feeling and providing what’s commercially expected (“There’s all this that’s up for grabs and up for being sold…”)

4. The Pressure of the Next Thing & Imposter Syndrome

[14:32–17:08, 17:34–19:00]

• Fear of Losing the Moment: Noah admits a persistent “grass is greener” mindset and being unable to enjoy the present for fear it will disappear.
• Imposter Syndrome: Even peak moments like Fenway Park are tinged with disbelief and anxiety about worthiness and permanence.
• Comparing Highs and Worrying About What’s Next: “When I was 16… I wrote a song…and then the next day, I was crying because I’m like, I’ll never make anything as good as that again…” (Noah, 17:46)

5. Creativity, Self-Worth, and Community

[19:15–23:29]

• Creativity Tied to Identity: “As writers, actors, whatever…you feel like what you do is who you are.”
• Isolation & Seeking Support: Opening up to other artists was daunting but ultimately helpful: “To hear someone say, ‘I get it, I went through that too’…it just makes the world feel brighter…” (Noah, 19:32)
• The Value of Speaking About Creative Struggle: Noah tries to be vocal about writer’s block so others know they are not alone.

6. Healing vs. the Myth of the Suffering Artist

[30:59–33:20]

• On Medication and Well-Being: Noah shares his fear that healing—through therapy or meds—would dull his creativity: “I was holding off on getting the help... because I was so afraid of it dulling my creativity…”
• OCD Diagnosis & Joshua Tree: A turning point trip confirmed help was needed: “That Joshua Tree trip was horrible, but also incredibly enlightening… that was my last try at just hoping life fixes this for me.” (Noah, 32:57)
• Letting Go to Reconnect: Recovery allowed creative depth from a healthier place, breaking the “Van Gogh myth” of suffering as art’s price.

7. Family, Boundaries, and Being Fair With Others’ Stories

[33:45–38:47]

• Regrets About Communication: “One of my biggest regrets is not knowing how to communicate how I was feeling and choosing to do it through the songs that were then marketed to millions…without having that conversation first.”
• Bringing Family Into the Creative Process: Noah seeks more intentionality in his next album and doc, honoring family members’ comfort and boundaries.
• Documentary as Therapy: Joint viewing sparked new, honest conversations and “this golden week afterwards where we all just felt super connected.”

8. Mental Health, Daily Struggles, and Body Image

[47:38–53:59]

• Success and Mental Health: Music career introduced new challenges but forced confrontation: “It’s helped me, but also introduced a lot of different challenges that you see in the documentary…”
• Body Dysmorphia: For Noah, body image issues are complex and hard to articulate, sometimes more about self-perception than actual appearance (“It’s like, it’s just this thing that lives in the back of my brain…” Noah, 50:22)
• Men and Body Issues: Writing “The Shape of My Shadow” and performing it revealed how many men resonated with those feelings: “That was cool that you did that, bro. I feel that one.” (Noah, 53:10)

9. Dealing With Criticism, Praise, and Projection

[71:38–77:04]

• The Challenge of Equilibrium: Noah finds both praise and criticism hit equally hard: “If someone says I did a good job, I’m like, yeah, I’m good. Someone says that I suck, I’m like, I suck… I want to find somewhere in the middle…” (Noah, 71:38)
• Jay's Advice on Filtering Feedback: Jay shares a method: “My job is to be a sieve or a filter…let me take the mud out…the sting, the pain…the ego… and see if there’s any water left for me to hold.” (Jay, 75:10)
• Projection: Noah recognizes a lifelong habit of worrying chiefly about how others experience or perceive events—whether among fans, family, or at the Grammys.

10. Therapy—Actually Doing the Work

[61:31–65:38]

• Difference Between Going and Doing Therapy: For years he went, but it took trust and the right therapist to “really commit myself to getting better because I wanted to selfishly…do it on my own.”
• Profound Therapist Question: “Do you want this to be what’s happening to you?…Is this pain actually something you’ve become comfortable with?” That question helped him see the comfort and identity sometimes derived from old wounds.

Notable Quotes / Memorable Moments

• “Songwriting is all about trying to go back. And just somewhere simpler and somewhere easier.”
  — Noah (14:32)

• “There has to be a way to make good music without suffering all the time…I’m just now trying to unwind this idea that I have to be unhealthy physically or in pain emotionally to create good music.”
  — Noah (26:24)

• “The best advice I got was…it’s just not going to be the same process [each time] and you can’t control it.”
  — Noah (18:00)

• “As creative people…you feel like what you do is who you are. And when what your job is, is expressing yourself, you feel like when you can’t express yourself, you’re not good at your job—so you’re not good at being you.”
  — Noah (19:32)

• “We underestimate the power of a simple phone call…but when you really think about it, some of the most memorable moments in our lives begin with someone deciding to reach out.”
  — Jay (28:00)

• “I wish every single family could have a chance to watch the way they interact with each other…because it really helped us.”
  — Noah (39:44)

• “It's easy to look at somebody and be like, your life must be so sick, man. You have no clue.”
  — Noah (54:00)

• “If you start making music trying to sound like somebody, then when the time comes to be yourself, it's going to feel like you're lying.”
  — Noah (55:10)

Important Timestamps

• [03:33] – Noah on filming the documentary and what he hopes viewers take away
• [06:22] – Childhood memories & yearning for a bigger creative life
• [10:12] – How career pressures changed his relationship to songwriting
• [14:32] – Fear of losing the present, imposter syndrome, “grass is greener” thinking
• [17:46] – Chasing the creative high; fear of not topping oneself
• [21:49] – Value of talking about creative struggle; looking for artist quotes as a teen
• [26:18] – Letting go of suffering as necessary for art
• [30:59] – Getting help for mental health, therapy and medication fears
• [38:47] – Watching the documentary with family: stress, healing, and reconnection
• [47:54] – Has success helped or hindered Noah’s mental health?
• [50:22] – Owning body dysmorphia and its representation in the documentary
• [53:10] – “You don’t see a lot of men, especially, able to say that publicly…”
• [61:31] – Difference between going to therapy and doing true therapeutic work
• [64:13] – Therapist’s pivotal question about comfort in pain
• [71:38] – The challenge of finding equilibrium between praise and criticism

Episode Highlights: Lighthearted & Reflective Moments

• [82:09] – Noah’s favorite compliment: “I love your shoes.”
• [82:59] – “Mac and cheese is just, like, not very good.”—a “hill I’ll die on.”
• [84:23] – Musician friend Niall Horan would be Noah’s “dead body” accomplice.
• [85:03] – Best advice: “Be where your feet are.”
• [86:21] – If he could make one law, it would be “no more fireworks videos online.”

Takeaway Themes

• Bravely embracing vulnerability—Noah models what it means to be honest about pain, confusion, ambition, and love.
• Healing and creativity can coexist—productive art doesn’t require self-destruction.
• Success brings visibility, but not always internal peace—the journey inward continues no matter the external trajectory.
• True connection begins with honest conversation—from family dynamics to therapy to audience interactions, being seen (and seeing others) is healing.
• Equilibrium and boundaries—learning to separate self-worth from praise or criticism, and using both pain and joy as fuel for empathy and creativity.

This summary captures the heart of a vulnerable, hopeful, and relatable conversation—a toolkit for both fans and anyone navigating self-worth, mental health, and the pressures of success.