There is an old fable about a “worry tree.” Each of us has one—a tree, filled with our worries, that we walk around, wishing it weren’t ours. Yet when we look at others’ worry trees, we often realize ours isn’t so bad after all, and we return to it a little wiser.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about another kind of tree — the idea tree.
For months, I’ve been circling mine. Instead of nurturing it, I kept glancing at everyone else’s — comparing, analyzing, wondering if their ideas, businesses, or messages were better than mine. Surely, I thought, the key to growth must be out there, hiding in someone else’s branches.
But here’s what I’ve learned (again): it doesn’t work that way.
When we spend our time studying other people’s trees, we stop tending to our own. We forget that our roots — our experience, our stories, our wisdom — are what make our growth possible and make our message unique.
Last week, I finally stopped circling. I sat beneath my own tree. And what I found was familiar — my commitment to helping people pause, reflect, and reconnect with what’s most true for them. My desire to create space where others can shed expectations, rediscover their voice, and design what’s next with intention. It’s the same mission that’s been quietly growing all along.
Maybe you’ve been circling too — around an idea, a career decision, or a vision you can’t quite name.
If so, pause for a moment. Sit under your own tree. Look at what’s already there. The clarity you’re searching for might not be out in someone else’s forest — it might be waiting right where you are.
This is what The Power of the Pause is all about — slowing down long enough to see what’s already within you. If you’ve been circling your own tree lately, maybe it’s time to pause, look up, and begin tending your tree again.