The Wayfinder Newsletter
Strategic insights for navigating the messy middle
Hi Fiorella,
It's Wednesday. The week's middle child. Not fresh-start Monday, not almost-there Friday. Just... Wednesday.
The day when momentum either builds or dies.
Which got me thinking about something: How many Wednesdays have you spent in the exact same place, having the exact same thoughts, about the exact same problems?
If your answer made you uncomfortable, keep reading.
This Week's Insight: The Wednesday Reality Check
On Monday, I shared something on LinkedIn that struck a nerve - how the sharpest knife cannot cut itself. How we can see everyone else's path clearly while being lost in our own forest.
I had a few interesting conversations as a result - most of them a version of: "This is me. I solve everyone else's problems but can't solve my own."
But here's what I didn't share on LinkedIn:
The real problem isn't that you can't see your own solution. It's that you've been looking at it so long, you've convinced yourself it's more complicated than it is.
You've analyzed it to death. Spreadsheet-ed it. Pro-and-con-listed it. Asked everyone except the one person who could actually help you see it clearly - someone trained to spot patterns you're too close to see.
The 3-Minute Wednesday Challenge
Right now, before you do anything else, try this:
Step 1: Write down the decision/challenge you've been overthinking for more than 3 months
Step 2: Complete this sentence: "If my best friend came to me with this exact situation, I'd tell them to..."
Step 3: Complete this sentence: "The reason I haven't taken my own advice is..."
That reason in Step 3? That's not logic. That's fear dressed up as strategy.
Real Talk: What Changed for Me
A little more than three years ago, I was sitting in a conference room at work, leading a strategy session, while mentally writing my resignation letter.
Every Wednesday felt like Groundhog Day. Same problems. Same meetings. Same pretending to care about Q3 projections while my soul was slowly leaving my body.
You know what changed everything?
Admitting I couldn't navigate my own transition alone.
The former VP of Strategy needed... a strategist. The irony wasn't lost on me.
But that outside perspective? It helped me see that my "complex career transition requiring 18 months of planning" was actually three clear decisions and one brave conversation.
I was making it complicated because complicated felt safer than simple. Complex meant I could keep analyzing. Simple meant I had to act.
The Pattern No One Talks About
After guiding many transitions, here's what I see:
Smart people make things complicated when they're scared.
- The "I need more data" (You don't)
- The "It's not the right time" (It never is)
- The "I should be able to figure this out" (Says who?)
- The "I'll decide after..." (No you won't)
You're not stuck because it's complicated. You're stuck because you're alone with your thoughts, and your thoughts have an agenda: keeping you safe, not happy.
Client Insight
Last week, a client texted me: "You just saved me another month of overthinking."
All I did? Asked her three questions that helped her see what she already knew but was too scared to admit.
She didn't need more information. She needed permission to trust what she already knew.
Most of us do.
Your Wednesday Invitation
Here's what I know to be true: By next Wednesday, you'll either be in the exact same place or you'll have momentum.
The difference? Whether you keep trying to cut yourself free with your own sharp knife or get someone else to hold the mirror.
I have space for two strategic conversations this week. Not coaching calls where you pay me to ask "how does that make you feel?" But real strategy sessions where we:
- Identify what you already know but won't admit
- Clear the fog between where you are and where you want to be
- Map out your next three concrete moves
Book Your Wayfinder Strategic Breakthrough Session
What Happens in These Conversations
- We cut through 3 months of overthinking in 40 minutes
- You get clarity on whether to build a bridge or take a leap
- We identify the real block (hint: it's never what you think)
- You leave with three specific actions, not more things to think about
This isn't about me having answers you don't have. It's about me having distance you can't have from your own situation.
One Last Question
What would you do between now and next Wednesday if you had absolute clarity?
Because you could.
The only thing standing between you and that clarity is a conversation. Not more analysis. Not more time. Not more spreadsheets.
Just one conversation with someone who can see what you're too close to see.
Reply to this email if you're ready to stop being your own bottleneck. Tell me what you've been overthinking. Sometimes the first step is just saying it out loud to someone outside your head.
Until next Wednesday (which could be very different from this one),
Fia Strategic Wayfinder for the Messy Middle
P.S. That client who texted about saving her a month of overthinking? She made her decision that afternoon. Implemented it by Friday. By Wednesday, she was living in the solution instead of the problem. Your Wednesday could be that Wednesday.
Forward this to someone who's been overthinking the same decision since January.
And if you want to learn more about what I do, or whether we can solve for getting you from point A to point B, book a discovery call and let's explore. Just a friendly conversation between explorers.
Wayfinder Discovery Strategy Session
|
