You’re not giving up. You’re in the middle of a story.

How to rewrite the story you’re telling yourself about this uncertain chapter.

If you’re considering a change in direction (professionally or personally) this might feel familiar:

You know what you’re doing right now isn’t it anymore.
It’s draining. Misaligned. A slow leak of energy.

But the alternative?
That’s foggy. Unclear. Not quite ready.

And so you hesitate.
You second-guess.
You tell yourself stories like:

“Maybe I’m just not resilient enough.”
“If I was stronger I’d push through.”
“Maybe I’m just bored… maybe I should be grateful.”
“I’m giving up.”

I’ve been there.
That threshold between where you’ve go to and what might come next.
That uncertain limbo where the thing you’ve outgrown still offers a sense of identity and stepping away feels like failure.

But here’s what I’ve come to realise:

• Giving up now isn’t failure.

• It’s part of the process.

• You’re in transition.

And the stories we tell ourselves about this space… matter.

When I was doing my PhD in physics, I spent years chasing answers to questions no one fully understood.
I lived in uncertainty.
I was meant to. That’s what research is.

But I struggled because part of me needed certainty. I wanted the clean answer, the proof, the resolution.

I now see that discomfort for what it was:
A collision between my wiring for meaning and a space that hadn’t yet revealed its meaning.

My desire for answers was because I didn’t really have a clear story about what I was doing. I later discovered the Physics research wasn’t for me.

And that’s what I see in so many people at a pivot point.
They feel something isn’t right.
They know something needs to change.
But the story they’re telling themselves is one of doubt, or failure, or not being enough.

And that story?
It’s not the truth.
It’s just one interpretation.

Joseph Campbell called this part of the journey the belly of the whale.
It’s not where you quit.
It’s where you transform.

Viktor Frankl reminded us that meaning isn’t something we wait for. It’s something we create, especially in uncertain moments like this.

So if you’re in that place… on the edge of letting go, not sure what’s next then please hear this:

🌀 You are not giving up.
🌀 You are becoming.
🌀 And the discomfort you’re feeling isn’t a sign of weakness.

It’s a sign that your current story has run its course and a new one is waiting to be written.

The question is: What meaning do you want to make of this moment

Because you can reframe the story.
You can shift the narrative from stuck to sacred.

✍️ Want to retell your story? Try this…

Here’s a simple version of our Story of Change framework from the Vision 20/20 program to help you reframe where you are:

1. Where were you before the change began?
   – What were you doing?
   – What was working… and what wasn’t?
   – What part of that version of you needs to be honoured?

2. What happened that made you realise something needed to shift?
   – Was it a moment, a feeling, or a slow build-up?
   – What did you notice in your body, your energy, your thoughts?

3. What’s the story you’ve been telling yourself about this transition?
   – “I failed.”
   – “I’m giving up.”
   – “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
   – Name it. Bring it into the light.

4. Now ask: What might be a more generous, more true story?
   – “I’m making space for something more aligned.”
   – “I’m learning to honour what feels right.”
   – “I’m in a creative pause before the next chapter begins.”

5. What kind of person might you be becoming?
   – What values feel more alive in you now?
   – What do you want to give the world next?

You don’t have to have the full story yet.
You just need to take the pen back into your own hand.

And if you’d like to explore this more deeply—with a little structure, a little courage, and a lot of compassion—that’s exactly what we do inside Vision 20/20.

Let me know where you are in your story.
I’d love to hear it.