Fear to Fuel

Starting something new? Whether it's a new leadership role or signing up for an endurance race, these can be both terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure. We cope the way most ambitious people do: We over-prepare, over-schedule, and over-caffeinate. (5 AM wake-ups, anyone?) If this sounds like you, welcome. I get it.

Yup, I've been there!

1. Everything is "training" now. Sleep is no longer rest—it’s “strategic recovery training." It's calculated and structured into the plan.

2. Tough conversations? Please! I prefer the term: “leadership opportunities.”

3. Even routine stuff now has more purpose. Those few minutes in between Teams meetings. Those are not downtime—those are now your personal 'transition zones,' meant for quickly refueling, refocusing, and preparing for whatever's coming next.

4. Our calendars look like a strategic life plan designed by someone having their first quarter-life crisis. Every 30-minute block is color-coded with the precision of a NASA launch sequence: blue for "virtual meetings," green for "physical training", yellow for "staff supervision", and red for "deadlines". We've reached peak efficiency when we're sending significant others monthly calendar invitations titled "Domestic Operations Sync" — color-coded orange, obviously. We have created a beautifully organized monster, and honestly? We are mostly proud—and maybe a little scared that we've gone too far.

   We laugh about it now, but real talk—this level of structure often comes from feeling like if we don't control everything, it'll all fall apart. Sound familiar?

5. We collect nervous excitement, always chasing experiences that make us think 'This is amazing!' and 'I might die' simultaneously. You know the feeling—like when your very first presentation felt like defusing a bomb, or when you first signed up to run a full marathon. But somewhere along the way, that paralyzing fear transformed into rocket fuel. You've realized that fear and excitement are just two sides of the same coin—and you've chosen to flip it toward possibility every single time.

   
   

The Beautiful Chaos of Beginning

Here's the thing about us ambitious beginners: We've slowly discovered that the real magic happens in that sweet spot between "I think I can handle this" and "What have I gotten myself into?" We've learned that growth isn't linear—it's more like an enthusiastic golden retriever with a day planner, bouncing toward improvement with questionable but admirable determination. We've become resilient enough to embrace mistakes, knowing they're not just inevitable—they're essential.

We celebrate all the wins- like successfully leading your first team meeting without sweating through your shirt or calling someone by the wrong name...twice. Or running for 20 minutes straight without stopping to "check your phone" (a.k.a. catch your breath).

Here's the irony: In our quest to become competent leaders without dying of imposter syndrome—and finish races without literally dying—we stumbled into becoming more self-aware, more curious, and surprisingly willing to look like complete beginners if it meant actually learning something.

Turns out, real growth doesn't happen in those perfectly choreographed leadership moments or with the perfect pair of running shoes. It happens in the beautiful chaos—when you're managing a team crisis while training for a half-marathon and having a minor existential breakdown over your spreadsheet color-coding system. In those moments, you might wonder if you're actually growing or just really good at looking busy. Here's what I've learned: the discomfort you feel? That's not a sign you're failing—it's proof you're expanding beyond who you used to be.

Success isn't about having it all figured out; it's about showing up consistently for the messy, exhilarating journey of becoming who you're meant to be.

Hard Truth: What often stands between us and a breakthrough performance is ourselves. The stories we tell ourselves about what we can't do. The limiting beliefs that keep us researching instead of doing. Your future self—the one who leads with confidence and jogs without Googling "is it normal to sound like Darth Vader after one mile?"—is waiting for you to make the move. But here's the good news: you don't have to figure this out alone.

Ready to transform that beautiful chaos into focused momentum? Let's work together to turn your overthinking into strategy, your fears into fuel, and your potential into performance.