The Power of Pressing Pause: Your First Step to Clarity
What if the best thing you could do for your career in 2025 is... nothing?
I know – in a world obsessed with "crushing goals" and "10x-ing everything," the idea of pressing pause feels almost rebellious. Every January, we pile on resolutions like we're loading up a plate at an all-you-can-eat buffet. More goals, more commitments, more pressure. But after 20-plus years of working with leaders (and learning this lesson the hard way myself), I've discovered something unexpected: The most powerful transformations often start with pressing pause, not fast-forward.
Welcome to Mirror Truth, a space where we'll explore what happens when we dare to look at our careers with complete honesty. Each week, Mirror Truth cuts through the noise of traditional career advice to help you align your external success with internal fulfillment. No polished LinkedIn success stories or filtered wisdom here—just authentic conversations about building a career that actually feels like you.
A Moment of Truth
In the quiet moments between achievements, there's a truth waiting to be discovered: When we're stuck or feeling unfulfilled, it's rarely because we're not doing enough. It's because we're doing things that aren't really us.
Think about your most recent "successful" week. The one where you checked all the boxes and hit all the metrics. Did it energize you, or did it drain you?
Here's what stopped me in my tracks: According to Deloitte's most recent workplace study, 80% of professionals report being "successful" by traditional metrics, yet only 32% say they're truly fulfilled in their careers. Success without alignment is like running on a treadmill – moving fast but not forward.
This Week's Mirror Moment™
Every edition of Mirror Truth includes a Mirror Moment – a carefully crafted reflection that cuts through the noise of "shoulds" and "supposed tos" to reveal what's truly important to you. Think of it as your weekly pause button, a chance to see yourself clearly without the distortion of expectations, titles, or others' definitions of success.
When you're caught in the cycle of constant achievement, it's easy to lose sight of what matters. That's why I invite you to pause with me now and consider:
"What would your career look like if you weren't trying to impress anyone?"
Set a timer for 3 minutes. Let the question sit with you. Notice what emerges – not the polished answers you'd share in a meeting, but the quiet truths that surface when you give yourself permission to be honest.
Your answer reveals more than just career preferences – it shows where you might be sacrificing authenticity for approval, choosing "should" over "want," or letting others' definitions of success overshadow your own.
This kind of reflection often brings up mixed emotions: clarity about what's not working, excitement about what could be, and perhaps some uncertainty about the path forward. If you're like many of the executives I work with, you might be sensing both possibility and complexity – knowing something needs to shift but wanting guidance to move from insight to impact.
That's why I've opened up a few spots this month for my Career Clarity Breakthrough Call – a focused 30-minute conversation where:
We'll uncover the one big thing holding you back from true career fulfillment.
You'll discover what an aligned, energizing career path could look like for you.
You'll leave with clear, actionable next steps to move toward a career that reflects your authentic self.
This complimentary call is my way of helping you take that first courageous step toward alignment and fulfillment. When you're ready to move from reflection to action, I'm here to guide the way.
