One thing I see all the time with high achievers is this constant feeling that they “should be further along.”
Further ahead.
Doing more.
Creating more.
Becoming more.
Meanwhile, especially in midlife, they’re standing on top of a mountain they spent 10, 20, 30+ years climbing… and they barely notice it.
It’s like we’ve all been trained to sprint past our own progress.
And here’s the problem with that:
When you never pause to acknowledge what you’ve built, life starts to feel heavier than it actually is.
Not because you’re failing — but because you’re disconnected from your own wins.
And I get this on a personal level.
For years, I lived in the burnout cycle I write about in The North Star Method — chasing goals, checking boxes, racing to prove myself, and immediately moving on to the next thing. I didn’t slow down long enough to appreciate what all that work had created.
That’s the pattern with most high achievers I coach today:
They’ve accomplished an incredible amount… but they can’t feel it.
Not because it isn’t meaningful — but because they’ve normalized it.
This is where gratitude becomes a power strategy.
Not the journaling kind.
But the kind that reconnects you to the foundation you’ve already built.
And once you hit midlife, that foundation matters.
Your desires begin to shift — not because you’re slowing down, but because you’ve already proven so much.
You’re no longer chasing the same things you chased in your 20s or 30s.
Your values evolve.
Your standards evolve.
Your goals evolve.
As a certified Strategic Intervention Life Coach, trained under Tony Robbins and Chloe Madanes, I learned that high achievers almost always have Growth and Contribution as top human needs.
So no — we never stop growing.
But we do need to grow differently.
And that starts by appreciating what already exists.
This is also why so many people hire me at this stage of life:
Some feel burnt out by everything they’ve achieved.
Some feel bored — “Is this it?”
Some feel ready for their next chapter but don’t know what it is yet.
And almost all of them underestimate the strength, resilience, and progress they’ve already created.
So here’s a simple place to begin:
Think back to the version of you from five or ten years ago.
- What would she be shocked you pulled off?
- What would make her emotional?
- What would she be proud of?
That’s gratitude.
Not as a task — but as awareness.
And the more aware you are of what you’ve already built, the clearer and more confident you become about what comes next.
Before you rush forward… pause.
Acknowledge the mountain you’re standing on. You built it.
And it’s time to let that count.
✅ When You’re Ready to Take the Next Step
If you want a deeper framework for breaking out of the burnout cycle and stepping into your next chapter with clarity, grab my book:
👉 The North Star Method
If you’re ready for personalized guidance as you define what’s next, explore working with me here:
