The Messy Middle

February is often when things feel less clear than we expected. We started off the new year with a bang but we're still sorting through areas of focus and goals.

That doesn’t mean something is wrong — it usually means you’re in the messy middle.

The messy middle is the phase where:

• what ended no longer fits (goodbye 2025!)

• what’s next isn’t familiar yet (what's up 2026?)

• routines, confidence, and identity are still adjusting 

And it's uncomfortable because things haven’t settled.

When I left a long corporate career to become an entrepreneur, I didn’t feel confident or clear. It felt awkward because I didn’t know exactly what I was doing but I tried things anyway.

I tested ideas and I experimented with new ways of working. I asked a lot of people for input — both tactical and strategic — knowing not all of it would apply.

Clarity didn’t come from thinking harder. It came from doing small things and paying attention to what worked and what didn’t.

The messy middle doesn’t respond well to big decisions. It responds to small experiments.

Trying something doesn’t mean committing to it. It means gathering information.

Experimentation reduces pressure and creates movement without forcing certainty too soon.

So as you sort through what 2026 holds for you, consider the next couple of months a time to try new things and experiment.

And don't look as a lack of commitment to them as failure. 

Because you’re not behind.

You’re in process.