Slowing Down Isn’t Losing Momentum — It’s Gaining Clarity
As I was preparing to launch something new, I ran out of steam.
Let me take a step back. I had a goal in mind. I knew my target audience and the problem I wanted to solve.
I had a strategy, a plan, a workflow, and a schedule. And I was on track.
But then I ran out of steam. That was something I didn’t plan for.
The Life You Wanted vs. The Life You’re Living
Recently, I was listening to an episode of IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson. Tracee Ellis Ross was a guest, and she said something that caught my attention:
“I did dream of my wedding growing up and that’s not to say that I didn't dream of the bigness of my life. But I could have spent more time dreaming of my life. And as much as grief does surface for me around not having children and not having a partner, I still wouldn't want the wrong partner… at all”.
There’s a kind of grief people don’t talk about enough: the grief of a life that didn’t happen. A dream deferred or that may not even happen. A version of success that no longer fits where you are now.
I know that grief.
The Worst Advice I Took During A Transition: “Stick It Out”
I was in a role where shortly after I joined the company, there was a major restructure and my department was disbanded.
I wasn’t impacted by the layoffs as a result, but the role I accepted basically didn’t exist anymore. In fact, this was more than a restructure–it was a complete rebrand. The name of the company on my offer letter was no longer the company I worked at. The department was gone. Yet, my title was the same.
It was a Friday when I found out. I was on my way to a nail appointment first thing in the morning when I got a Teams call from my manager. It was early her time, 5:30 AM, and she usually spent her mornings getting her young boys to school, so I immediately thought that was weird. I told her I was away from my desk and would call her as soon as I sat down.