What’s something your past self cared deeply about that feels far less important to you now?High achievers are used to asking what comes next.
The next promotion.
The next client win.
The next challenge. But we rarely pause to ask a different question: Does the person I built my life around still fit who I am today? For 25 years, I tried to live by a simple rule: Work hard. Prove you can do it. To be clear, that approach helped build a career (twice) and life I’m deeply grateful for. But something interesting happens as your career progresses. You start noticing small shifts. Some people hold tightly to identities that no longer quite fit who they’ve become. Others begin quietly questioning whose expectations are still driving their decisions. And some realise that goals they’d been chasing for years suddenly feel… less meaningful. Not wrong.
Just no longer the point. Letting something matter less can feel harder than taking on something new. Addition looks like ambition.
Subtraction can feel like retreat. The most thoughtful professionals I work with aren’t constantly adding more goals. They’re refining what actually deserves their energy. Simplify to amplify. Because what once demanded everything from you may no longer serve the person you’re becoming. And that’s not failure. It’s growth. Whatever stage of your career you’re in, experience accumulates, mistakes are made, lessons are learned, wins are often brushed past, and time begins to feel emotionally scarce. Inevitably, who we are evolves. So here’s a question to reflect on this week: What is something “past you” cared deeply about that present-day you might be ready to release? Sometimes progress isn’t about doing more. It’s about having the courage to do less of what no longer matters. You’re doing great!
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