Not on My 2025 Bingo Card

We are four and a half months into 2025, and there’s a phrase I keep hearing from my clients—and truthfully, I’ve been repeating it myself: “That was not on my 2025 Bingo card.”

In a world that already feels heavy with political uncertainty, economic shifts, and career instability, many of my clients are facing things they never imagined—layoffs, personal upheavals, and changes in their identity and trajectory.

And me?

What wasn’t on my bingo card was my daughter getting sick.

Suddenly, all of my goals for 2025—particularly my commitment to go deeper emotionally—were tested in ways I never anticipated.

Learning to Sit in the Discomfort

In late January, I found myself sitting in a Safeway parking lot at 5 am, screaming into the early morning stillness:

“I don’t know how to do this.”

And then I heard it—this voice inside me, calm and steady, saying: “That’s why I’m here. I hold the big emotions that might be too hard to face. And I’ll give you what you need right now—love, compassion, empathy.”

It may sound strange, but in that moment, it was exactly what I needed. That voice helped me reconnect with the part of myself that protects, that pushes forward, but also—finally—makes space for feeling. That voice allowed me to navigate my daughter’s treatment (she is doing much better) with courage, clarity, and confidence.

This moment became a mirror of what I see in my clients every day: smart, capable people experiencing life-altering moments, navigating unexpected terrain, trying to figure out what’s next.

Finding Meaning in the Bingo Card Moments

These moments—whether personal or professional—are often the very ones that challenge us to grow. But let’s be honest: we don’t usually welcome them.

We complain when we’re pushed outside our comfort zone. We resist the growth. But here’s the thing:

Greatness rarely comes without discomfort.

And yet, when we look back, it’s often these same events, the uninvited bingo card moments, that become defining ones. They change us, strengthen us, awaken something new in us.

Building Resilience in Times of Uncertainty

So, how can we build resilience and reframe these challenging moments as opportunities? Here are a few practices I’ve been leaning into—and encouraging my clients to explore:

1. Acknowledge what’s real. Resilience isn’t about pretending everything’s fine. It starts by recognizing what’s hard, naming it, and allowing yourself to feel it.
2. Stay curious. Instead of asking “Why is this happening to me?” try “What is this moment here to teach me?” Curiosity keeps you open to growth, even in struggle.
3. Make room for both logic and emotion. You don’t have to choose between being rational and being human. The most powerful leaders I know are the ones who’ve learned to hold both.
4. Reclaim your agency. Even in uncertain times, there are always things you can control—your values, your presence, your decisions.
5. Reflect on the good. Most of us never add good things to our bingo cards, but they show up, too. Take time to notice them. Let them anchor you.

Your Bingo Card Is Still Yours

2025 may not look the way we expected it to, but that doesn’t mean it’s lost. It might be more real, more raw, and more revealing than anything we imagined. What if your “unexpected” bingo card moments are invitations, not interruptions?

Opportunities to deepen your leadership, connect more authentically, and grow into who you’re becoming? So, I’ll ask you what I’ve been asking myself:

What is this season here to teach me?
And…
What might I gain if I stop resisting the discomfort and step all the way in?