Where are you feeling unbalanced?
I just wanted to get off the plane.
It had been a long day. I was headed home after a 3 day intensive, a weekend rich with learning, insights, and conversation. A wonderful experience, but by the end of the third day, I was tired. And ready to be home.
When we finally touched down, after the typical turbulence that’s not unusual for an entry into Denver, I was toast.
Slowly, passengers started deplaning, row by row, each one grabbing their luggage and making their way to the exit.
I was about a dozen people from the front when the flight attendant raised his hand and stopped us all in our tracks. After a few moments, he instructed us to step into the rows. We complied and filled the first few rows, luggage in hand. After enough of us had stepped aside, he motioned for those behind us to move towards the exit. Confused as to this change in protocol, we all looked at each other wondering what was going on. Why were those behind us allowed to exit, but we were being held back?
Slowly it dawned on us. We were in the rows to shift the weight of the plane, off balance as the passengers and checked luggage were all offloading at the same time.
After a few moments the flight attendant raised his hand again to halt the passengers behind us, and then he motioned for those of us who had stepped into the rows to resume our exit.
The whole experience only lasted a few minutes, but it got me thinking.
Where else do we find ourselves unbalanced while we’re making progress on our goals?
Perhaps it’s the discomfort you feel when you’re learning a new skill. Not yet proficient, uncomfortable without the familiarity of your old approach. Unmoored and uncomfortable.
Maybe it’s the insight you can’t “unsee” now that you’ve seen it, pulling you away from what used to be comfortable into something new. You know you need to take action, but you’re not yet sure how.
Or maybe you’ve made the move, jumped all into the thing, but it’s not “clicking” yet. You know you can’t go back, but the things you’ve put into motion aren’t quite working out yet.
If you’re finding yourself off balanced during a period of transition, take inspiration from that flight attendant:
Pause
Take a moment to observe what’s happening. Notice what’s happening within you and around you. What’s arising in this moment that’s different than you expected?
Adjust
Use these new insights to adjust your plan. Perhaps it’s a small tweak, or maybe it’s a bigger shift. Take in this new insight to inform the changes you want to make.
Resume
Adjustment in hand, resume your progress towards your goal. Perhaps it’s a series of adjustments, a bigger change in course, or a shift back when the obstacle has been addressed. Keep going.
Being in action will uncover new information we might not have anticipated when we started on our path. Rather than being stuck when we find ourselves feeling unbalanced, we can pause, adjust our plans, and resume our progress towards our goal.
Where do you feel unbalanced in your progress? How will you pause, adjust, and resume?
May 7, 2026
About the author:
Christina Von Stroh is a leadership coach who helps her clients become wildly successful by applying iterative software development practices to achieve their dreams. Want to work with Christina to help you iterate towards the person you’re becoming?
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