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

Oprah Winfrey said 2012 was "one of the worst years" of her life.

Vivien Killilea/Getty Images Oprah Winfrey says she let people-pleasing get in the way of a big career decision.

She ignored her intuition because she was afraid of what others would think.

The fallout made 2012 "one of the worst years" of her life, she said.

Oprah Winfrey , 72, said she made a career decision she knew was wrong, simply because she didn't want to disappoint others.

Speaking on Thursday's episode of " The Mel Robbins Podcast ," Winfrey reflected on the difficult early years of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network .

Winfrey launched OWN in January 2011, months before "The Oprah Winfrey Show" ended its 25-year run in May that year.

The network struggled with low ratings and later made highly publicized layoffs , including 30 staff cuts in March 2012.

"2012 was one of the worst years of my life," Winfrey said.

"Every single story headline about me was 'Oprah and the struggling OW Network.

Oprah and the struggling OW Network.' And it was hurtful and painful to me because it was the truth.

I was struggling." Winfrey said she was "so angry" for not trusting "the voice inside myself," which was "so strong" that she would wake up in the middle of the night unable to breathe.

Despite her doubts, Winfrey said she pushed ahead with the venture because she felt bound by the agreement she had signed.

She later realized she hadn't moved forward because she truly wanted to, but because she was afraid of disappointing the people involved.