Sometimes the answer isn't figuring it all out, it's getting quiet enough to hear your next right step.
Have you ever had this happen? You have a clear vision for a change or something you want to make in the world, but every time you think about the 'how,' your mind spirals into all the reasons it won't work?
I found myself in that space again recently - knowing I want to help women find and trust their authentic voice, but getting completely stuck when I tried to figure out how it all would tie into my existing business offerings.
My mind kept insisting I needed to solve the entire puzzle at once: How would this new creative work integrate with my writing workshops, with my marketing mentoring, and life coaching?? Should I start locally or online? What if I don't have a big enough audience? The questions seemed to bubble over, multiplying without stopping and faster than I could answer them.
I found myself feeling stuck, paralyzed by a feeling of overwhelm.
Then I remembered
When I’m working with clients, we start with the same thing: stillness. Getting quiet enough to distinguish between the mental noise and what actually feels true in the body.
I asked myself a very simple question: When I imagine reaching out locally versus online, what feels more spacious? Not what makes strategic sense, not what I 'should' do, but what feels aligned with how I actually want to move in this world right now, at this point in time.
It took a few moments for the answer to emerge. I was patient. I know that quieting the mind sometimes is easier said than done. But after a few minutes, I realized - online felt expansive, local felt restrictive given my limited connections in a place I still feel new to.
That led to another remembering: I don't need to have everything figured out to take one small step.
Instead of launching a full blown offer or retreat program, what if I simply reached out to a few women for coffee chats? Not to sell anything, but to explore - what does it feel like to trust your own knowing? Where do you feel stuck? What kind of support are you craving?
Suddenly, I had one clear, authentic action I could take this week. One that honored both my curiosity and my desire to help, without requiring me to solve an entire business strategy question first.
This is the work, I think. At least for me it is.
Learning to distinguish between the voice of authentic knowing and all the other voices – the helpful ones and the not helpful ones. The ones that say we need to have it all figured out. The ones that very quietly create impossible standards. The ones that quickly generate more questions than clarity.
Our intuitive knowing doesn’t ask us to solve everything at once. It doesn’t work like that.
Rather, it reminds me of what E.L. Doctorow said about writing: “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."
Our own deep soul-knowing doesn’t give us the big picture, the future laid out clearly. It gives us something much simpler, much easier. It simply invites us to take this one small step that feels right.
What is one small step that feels right for you to take this week?
If you're a woman who sometimes struggles to trust your own voice or take action on what you know deep down, I'd love to have a conversation with you. I'm exploring ideas around helping women step more fully into their authentic voice and would genuinely value hearing about your experience. Reach out if a coffee chat (virtual or in-person) appeals to you.