Recalibrate. Not Reinvent. Not Transform.

So I did it. I started making the moves that I said I would — I reached out.

Reached out to friends I hadn't talked to in years.

Each call started the same way — oh my God, it's been forever, how ARE you — and inevitably it got to "so, what are you doing now?"

And there I was — six months out of the Hunger Games — sitting on a list of maybes. Board seat? Consulting? Travel? Philanthropy? Internship as a sports caster?

My response… "No fuckin idea!"

The friends all said the same advice — you've got time to figure this out.

Which made no sense to me.
Because I am the one who has the answers.

Crisis at work? I answer in three minutes.
Best hotel for the trip? Ninety seconds.
Medical crisis? I've got the best doctors in the nation by the time you hang up.

Anyone seeking factual advice?
I am on it! The engine has run brilliantly for forty-one years.

So why is this question —
the one that's just for me —
the one I can't answer?

What is transformation or reinvention?

The insights my friends shared really got me into analysis mode.

Same starting line.
Same demographic — capable, accomplished, retired, or restructured.

A friend who is one of the best salespeople I have ever known. She can sell snow to the Eskimos. Went with her passion. Works at a ski resort for the season. Travels with her husband for the rest of the year.

Another got out of the corporate Hunger Games, shifted to a hospitality conglomerate, and loves it. Plans to retire next year. Already has friends lined up and the calendar mapped.

Another is solo-traveling to places she'd always wanted to explore. Eat Pray Love adjacent, but on her terms.

Another retired. Hated it after a year. Took a lower-pay, lower-stress job for the extra spending money for her shoe addiction. Yup, right up my alley!

Each of them took their time.
Each of them thought it through.
Each of them had a different answer.

Then a friend said, "... go try something this week. Maybe start a Mahjong club! Just do something enjoyable for you! And stop giving yourself a failing grade because the answer hasn't arrived."

Hmm. Even after two years, she can still get to my core!

Of course, I went and Googled it.

Did you know the Global Wellness Summit just named 2026 the year of the Over-Optimization Backlash?

Shocking! That the same industry that sold us a decade of hustle harder, become a better version before it's too late, is publicly walking it back. Wonder what new stuff they will want us to buy into now?

There's also new research out that says women need to stop proving, performing, and reinventing. Start asking what feels true instead of what will be rewarded.

In plain English — not a transformation, not a reinvention. A Recalibration.
Did it take them a decade to figure this out?

And Claude – my AI staff of one? "You're not failing. You're just answering a question your muscle has never been asked. Cut yourself some slack — and then go do another rep."

And that's when it clicked.

A coworker used to say, "It's just muscle memory."

Could it be that for forty-one years, my muscles were used for everything that pointed outward? Career. Family. Crisis. Trips. Those muscles are fucking strong.

I just haven't used any muscles to work on myself? Or maybe I'm secretly angry that I'm the one problem I can't solve?

Am I in the over-optimization backlash?

In retrospect, that's what these blogs have been for me. Twenty Sundays of working out on me.

No wonder my body is aching when I get out of bed these days! Or that could be old age, or me not actually going to pilates!

Different muscles. Each one, figuring out a thing I now know about TODAY's me.

• I was relieved to be out of the Hunger Games.
• I couldn't stop being helpful — even when nobody asked.
• Making the first move doesn't make me needy.

But the biggest thing I learned?
I don't want a "new me." I want "more me."

These past few weeks, I called, updated my LinkedIn profile, and revised my list of maybes for next steps.

Internship as a sports caster — okay, I might be way over the age limit on this one!

Travel is out as Chris isn't "ready" to retire.

Philanthropy might not work, as the last one told me I didn't have enough conviction. Got to think about this one.

The biggest move I made in the past two weeks?

I took your inputs, insights, and "must-haves" and started setting up the community on Substack.

A community, a new gym that's built for what we actually need. One that focuses our attention, our thoughts, our questions — on us.

A place where our lived-in experiences are the value. Where opinions aren't needed because who needs more noise. I got enough noise already in my own brain!

A place for each of us to recalibrate.
Where lived experiences are valued and welcomed without judgment.

I'm six months in.
Chris said I might need more time.
I'm starting to think he might be right.
Just don't tell him.

Your Move?

Maybe you feel the same about the wellness industry that I do.

Maybe you invested resources – your time and money – yet didn't see the return as promised.

Maybe you're smack in the over-optimization backlash — an anti-reinvention voice in the wild.

Maybe you're in your own version of the Hunger Games right now, and a bit annoyed at saying "I'm fine" when you are not.

Maybe you're ready for a community where women with experience share their interruptions, their nagging feelings, what they did, what worked out brilliantly, and what turned out to be a learning lesson.

Whatever your maybe is — see you over at Substack next week.

Life Interrupted for a reason.
Whatever your move is…
Make it unapologetically yours.

P.S. I will use your email for access to our new Substack community. Keep an eye out for an email.