Last week while interviewing my dear friend Christine Thompson for this week’s episode of Plenty, I revealed something I wasn’t entirely sure I should be sharing in public.

I’m a staunch proponent of sharing from the scar, not the wound.

But it’s also virtually impossible for me not to tell the truth. (Even lying to pull off a surprise is painfully awkward for me, and 9/10 times I can’t do it.)

So when I was telling Christine why her book, Alchemy of Chaos, resonated with me so deeply, I couldn’t skip the honest part.

I’ve been writing these weekly emails for 16 years. I’ve been doing some version of the business I run now for just as long.

And while it’s a total honor to be an OG in this industry, and I’m immensely grateful for everything I’ve built and learned, everything has a shadow.

Sometimes the very ways of being that got us where we are become the things we need to let go of to get where we’re going.

And that’s pretty uncomfortable.

Especially when you’re used to being capable and together.

My world isn’t falling apart. In many ways, things are the best they’ve ever been.

But a part of how I’ve always identified and done things is asking to morph into something new.

And right now, I’m somewhere in the goo of the chrysalis, waiting for my imaginal cells to get their act together and show me what’s next.

Which brings me to something Christine helped me understand:

Chaos doesn’t have to mean your life is falling apart.

Sometimes it just means the strategies you’ve always relied on aren’t working anymore, or they are but they just feel wrong.

You can’t see the path forward. You don’t know what to do. And your usual response of figuring it out and making a plan isn’t getting you anywhere.

The temptation, especially for those of us who are very good at making things happen, is to get out of that uncomfortable middle as fast as possible.

But what if there’s something we’re meant to receive there that we can’t access when we’re busy trying to control the outcome?

That’s what Christine and I got into on this week’s episode of Plenty.

Christine advises some of the world’s most influential people, and her book, Alchemy of Chaos, has been a wise and unusual companion for me during a time when I’ve really needed it.

(I even lugged the 380+ page hardcover to and from Peru and it was worth every extra pound in my tote bag.)

If you’re navigating a season where the life you’ve carefully built doesn’t quite feel like the life you’re meant to live next, I think this conversation will be especially meaningful for you.

We talk about what it actually means to alchemize chaos, why the in-between is so hard for capable people, and how to recognize what might be trying to emerge before you can see the whole picture.

And yes, toward the end, I share the thing I wasn’t sure I should say out loud.

Press play on When Success Becomes a Trap and You Don’t Know What’s Next with Christine Thompson

 

 

Don’t skip the middle. There’s something in there for you.

Xo,
Kate