Time to Turn Around
“A rut is not a sign that you’ve tanked. A plateau is not a cue that you’ve peaked. They’re signals that it may be time to turn around and find a new route. When you’re stuck, it’s usually because you’re heading in the wrong direction, you’re taking the wrong path, or you’re running out of fuel. Gaining momentum often involves backing up and navigating your way down a different road—even if it’s not the one you initially intended to travel. It might be unfamiliar, winding, and bumpy. Progress rarely happens in a straight line; it typically unfolds in loops.”
—Adam Grant, from his book Hidden Potential
Hi friend,
My soul did a little happy dance when reading this. It was if these words were plucked from the universe and placed on the pages as a message to me. Inherently, I have learned over the decades that progress is not a straight line. But as someone who has often gauged progress as a marker of success or worthiness, and who is working to untether herself from this outdated and hurtful belief, it was the right reminder at the right time.
Over the years I have had many moments of feeling stuck, questioning why I wasn’t seeing the progress I’d hoped to. As I continue to deepen my connection with myself, to listen and observe, I’m realizing that I was heading in directions I thought I needed to. So I am working towards pushing less and allowing myself to be pulled more.
I am no longer working towards building a coaching business. I am discarding an unfit need to post content regularly on Facebook to get more followers and likes. Who cares because, for me, most of it is surface-level engagement, which at the end of the day, bores the shit out of me. I crave deeper engagement and real connection, and that is missing on a large scale in the world today.
I realize that my tank is close to empty. To refuel, I am not going to hold myself to posting content on some set schedule on Facebook, and in fact, am going to pull away from it more. I prefer Instagram as I’m a more visual person and enjoy following others whose content inspires me. That’s more of my jam these days. But I’m not going to push myself there either. I’m going to go with the flow as I don’t have any specific outcomes right now. I do, however, have a pull within me to share more photography, my favorite things that are good for the planet, and my adventures as I continue to uncage my courage (that message is not going away—it feels right).
So I am turning on my backup warning sound (the one you hear when trucks are backing up) and announcing that I am easing off the gas for producing content that doesn’t feel like it’s coming from the deepest corners of my being. I want my blog to be more about living more fully and sharing my upcoming travel adventures and leaning in to living a fuller life. I care about the destruction of the world around us and how I can leave a lighter footprint through my awareness and choices and want to share this with others.
How can we protect animals that are being added to endangered lists? What products are better for the planet? How can more awareness be created of how connected everything truly is globally?
These are things that have been on my heart for some time now, and things I envision bringing to light when I embark on my travels abroad. Through my writing and photography, I hope to inspire global connection and a deeper understanding of just how precious nature and all it encompasses are. This feels like more of the right path—a new path.
I hope this inspires you to not hold yourself back from stepping on the brakes when you’re running on fumes, to not beat yourself up for feeling stuck, feeling you should be in a different place in your life by now. Having the courage to step back, to realign with your values, to chart a course down a new path, is powerful. This is how you live a more fulfilling life.
- Jen