Is it the way your energy shifts? Your mood? The conversations it opens up? Sometimes success doesn’t look like a clear win, it just feels easier, more fun, more you. What are the signs you look for when deciding whether to keep going with something new or let it go?
Hello,
Join Fatuma's Voice, Sign Up to get started!
That’s such a rich question—it taps into something so many of us wrestle with, often quietly. When we start something new—a project, a job, a relationship—we’re hopeful, but not always clear on how to tell whether we’re on the right track. The question seems to be asking, beneath the surface, how weRead more
That’s such a rich question—it taps into something so many of us wrestle with, often quietly. When we start something new—a project, a job, a relationship—we’re hopeful, but not always clear on how to tell whether we’re on the right track. The question seems to be asking, beneath the surface, how we listen to ourselves. Not just to external measures like awards or promotions, but to the subtle cues: how our body feels when we think about continuing, whether we feel dread or curiosity, whether we come alive in the doing, even if the outcomes aren’t immediate or obvious.
One of the first things I notice in myself is whether there’s a lightness or a kind of stuck energy. Sometimes something might not be “going well” in an outer sense, but I still feel a little more alert, a little more curious each day I return to it. Other times, it’s more draining than invigorating—but even that isn’t always a signal to quit. It might mean something needs to shift, be re-imagined. I think it’s less about labeling things as success or failure, and more about paying attention to whether the experience is deepening you in some way. Is it teaching you, guiding you into parts of yourself you haven’t yet met?
Letting go and sticking with something are both brave acts. The tension here seems to come from the longing to be true to ourselves while also hoping for something to “work out.” Maybe what matters
See less