WTF Wednesday.

It’s WTF Wednesday.

And today’s version isn’t about leadership frameworks, burnout statistics, or “best practices.”

It’s about being human.

Here’s the honest truth I don’t see talked about enough:

You can be doing the right things. You can be trying. You can be showing up. You can be building structure. You can be setting boundaries. You can be “handling it”…and still feel off.

Still tired. Still heavy. Still unsettled. Still grieving things that don’t have clean labels.

This week, I’ve been reminding myself of something I tell clients all the time—but apparently forget to apply to myself:

Progress doesn’t always feel good while it’s happening.

The past two and a half years for me have included almost every transition a person can make.

Divorce. Resigning from a 27 year career. Starting a new business. Moving. Becoming an empty nester. Living by myself for the first time in 26 years. Setting boundaries with people I love, but who are unhealthy for me.

It's hard, heavy stuff. Not every day is a good one. In fact, many aren't so great. Add to that - winter (no pool time 😥), and the world feeling out of control - it can result in some pretty dark times.

And as someone who was taught that performance + productivity = value, unwinding and deprogramming that has been no small thing.

Sometimes it feels sad. Sometimes it feels lonely. Sometimes it feels like I'm moving forward with one foot stuck in old emotional mud.

And that doesn’t mean I'm doing it wrong.

It means I'm actually doing it.

We don’t talk enough about the in-between seasons—the ones where nothing is “wrong,” but nothing is fully right yet either.

Where you’ve outgrown old versions of yourself — but haven’t quite landed in the new one. Where you’re functioning, but not flourishing. Where you’re tired of being strong. Where you don’t want advice—you just want someone to say, “Yeah. That makes sense.”

And we definitely don't talk about these in-between seasons at work because we fear being human = being weak.

So if today finds you:

• Keeping it together on the outside

• Doing only what has to be done

• Wondering why it still feels heavy

• Questioning your energy, motivation, or joy

• Or just quietly exhausted by everything

You’re not broken. You’re not weak. You’re not failing. You’re human.

And you’re in motion—even if it doesn’t feel graceful.

That’s it. No call to action. No lesson wrapped in a bow.

Just a reminder: You don’t have to be “better” yet.

Sometimes the work is simply staying present long enough for the next version of you to catch up. I'm telling myself that every day in this season of "in-between."

WTF, indeed.

— Stephanie

P.S. If this resonated, you’re not alone. And if today all you did was get out of bed and keep going—count it. That absolutely counts.