About You
Taking Stock of Where You Are, Right Now
I ask you to pause for a moment.
This issue isn’t about trends, frameworks, or strategies. It’s about you.
Where is your head at today? What’s weighing on your mind? What’s fueling your energy or draining it?
Every so often, we reach a point where we need to take stock—not just of what we’re doing but also of how we’re thinking, feeling, and navigating our path. These moments—sometimes triggered by change, uncertainty, or restlessness ask us to pause and reconsider.
So here’s a question: What condition are you facing today that might make you rethink your path?
Maybe it’s a career shift, a personal transition, or a quiet realization that something no longer fits. Whatever it is, let’s explore it.
NOW: Where Are You, Really?
Before moving forward, let’s assess where you are right now. Take stock.
Are you feeling clear and aligned or are you searching for something more?
Are you in a season of momentum, or are you stuck at a crossroads?
Do you feel like you’re in control of your narrative, or is it being shaped by outside forces?
Taking stock isn’t just about work or goals. It’s about mindset. It’s about the story you tell yourself when no one is listening. And, it is also about the story others are telling about you in a room you are not in.
Grab a couple of sticky Post-It notes (different colors) write down two headlines, and stick them to the wall or whiteboard.
What’s working in your life right now?
What isn’t?
Write down as many topics or thoughts as you can and post them under each respective headline. Take some time to reflect on what you wrote. Do you understand why you wrote what you wrote on the sticky?
NEW: What Needs to Shift?
Change doesn’t always happen in big, dramatic moves. Sometimes, it starts with a subtle shift in perspective. A step, before a shift. A shift, before a leap.
When reflecting on both of your stickie note posts, if something in your path no longer feels right, consider:
What’s pulling you forward? Are there new interests, ideas, or people entering your orbit?
What’s holding you back? Is it fear, habit, or a belief that you should stay on a particular track?
What’s one experiment you can run? Instead of feeling pressure to overhaul everything, what’s one small change you can test?
Reframing “taking stock” as an opportunity rather than an obligation can make all the difference. Reframing something as simple as, “you get to”, versus “you have to.”
Ask yourself:
What would happen if you gave yourself permission to explore a new possibility?
How could you shift your mindset in a way that serves you, rather than limits you?
NEXT: What’s the Story You Want to Tell?
Your narrative isn’t just something that happens to you. It’s something you create. It is how you make sense of the world around you. It is how you shape the existence you want to live.
Looking ahead:
What do you want to be true about your path in six months?
What story do you want to tell yourself a year from now?
What action can you take today to move in that direction?
Taking stock isn’t just about assessing—it’s about aligning. The key isn’t knowing exactly where you’ll end up, but feeling clear about the next step. And, more importantly, take that step, even when you don’t have the answers.
What will be your next?
Write down, “I see a world in which_____________”. Fill in the blank with your futurecast of what you believe, even if it seems impossible today.
Payoff: Your Narrative, Your Terms
This moment of right here, right now is an opportunity.
In the Now, you reflect on where you stand.
In the New, you identify what needs to shift.
In the Next, you take ownership of your path, on your terms.
You don’t have to have everything figured out. But you do have the ability to ask the right questions and make the next move.
So, as you take stock today, ask yourself:
What’s one thing I can shift, big or small, to move closer to the narrative I want to live?
Take these thoughts and load them into ChatGPT and begin the dialog, with yourself. Make AI your thought partner. Your sounding board. The narrative is yours to write.
"Without proper self-evaluation, failure is inevitable." - John Wooden
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My new start-up is based on the strategic narrative of Actionable Delight. If you want to learn how to take stock of your narrative, book a free consultation with me, and let's consider the possibilities.
I am a Narratologist and my craft is to help others find and design their unique form of self-expression. For companies, it is about alignment around a Narrative Northstar and the mission to achieve it. For executives over 45, it is about owning your narrative equity and actively sharing or spending it. For movements, it is about generating visible narrative equity that inspires a call to action.
My personal narrative is about improving human connection. I believe we can choose to be a power station to others that need a spark.