It’s natural to get stuck in what we’ve been doing for a long time—players keep practicing their sport, CEOs stay busy running their businesses, and project managers move from one project to the next.
But when something disrupts our routine—like losing a job, work drying up, or even falling ill—it can feel unsettling. Our instinct is often to rush back to what we know, to find comfort in the familiar. But what if we paused instead? What if we saw disruption as an opportunity to ask ourselves the big questions and realign with what truly matters?
Slowing down to reflect might spark an idea for something new, something bigger. It might lead us to a fresh career move, a bold new venture, or even just the decision to spend more time with family. The outcome doesn’t matter as much as the act of consciously choosing our next step, rather than defaulting to the past.
And we don’t have to wait for disruption to force us into reflection. We can take control—break the cycle, question what we’ve been doing, reassess our goals, and chart a course toward the future we actually want.
After all, the best time to rethink our direction isn’t when we have to—it’s when we choose to.
