When slowing down feels scary


Last Thursday, 55 minutes into a session, a client dropped this fear on me, "I’m afraid if I slow down, I’ll never speed back up again."

She’d just finished leading a huge project. Everyone called it a win.

Her manager praised her in a team meeting. And her Slack pinged with emojis and congratulatory "amazing work!" messages.

But she wasn’t proud. She was exhausted.

And underneath the exhaustion was guilt.

Because in her mind, resting meant losing momentum.

And losing momentum meant falling behind.

I get it.

That voice that says, "If I stop now, everything I’ve built will slip away."

It’s one I know too well.

But here’s what I’ve learned from working with so many high-achieving women in tech:

You can’t lose what’s truly yours.

I repeat, you can't lose what's truly yours.

Momentum isn’t about constant motion.

It’s about direction.

And sometimes the direction is stillness. Reflection.

You might be in that space right now.

Where you’re too tired to dream big, but too self-aware to keep pushing just for the sake of it.

Where something inside you is saying, "I don’t know what’s next, but it can’t be this."

Let me reassure you. Tat space isn’t failure. It’s recalibration.

It’s where the noise quiets long enough for your next idea to find you.

Where the version of you that’s been running can finally catch her breathS

o if you’ve been feeling stuck or slow, maybe that’s not a problem to fix.

Maybe it’s your system telling you it’s time to realign before you move again.

Take the damn pause.

Let the stillness do its work.

And breathe.

You’re not losing your edge. You’re remembering who you are when you’re not sprinting.

Want to slow down and recalibrate together?

Let’s book a call to see if it’s a mutual fit: Book here →

From your fellow slow-down, partner-in-crime,

Sarah

p.s. Written from a very rainy, airplane-delayed trip to Portland to see family and go through an immigration interview (more on that some other time!).

TO REVIVE YOUR ENERGY....

AuthenTech is my group program for thoughtful women and non-binary folks in tech who are ready to figure out what’s next, in and out of tech.

I'll be opening up my calendar over the next 2 weeks for us to explore working together for the final 2025 cohort!

Start With Hello is a weeklyish letter for women in tech who want to reimagine what's possible with their career and life. I'm Sarah, a leadership coach, engineer, founder, and Sushi Go aficionado.

I help you navigate transitions with clarity and creativity. If you're burnt out, questioning everything, or craving something more meaningful, let's talk. My coaching is part reflection, part unlearning, part experimentation.

If you're in a rut, I've got you.

Pass this along if it fits someone you know.

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