Learnings

Walking Into the Unknown, Again and Again

Then vs. Now: Same summit, different me. I was bent over, hands on my knees, dragging air into my lungs like it owed me something. My stomach clenched in protest. My feet felt like dead weight. The trail ahead stretched unforgivingly upward, snow-packed and steep. Every part of me screamed to stop, but stopping wasn’t an option. A little over a year apart, I stood at the start of this same trail. Same climb. Same mountains. But I wasn’t the same person. Seven treks in roughly 15 months. That’s the number people get stuck on. “Wow, …

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How to Stop Running from Your Own Feelings

Trekking forces honesty. The kind you can’t fake. You don’t get to outthink exhaustion. You don’t get to ignore your burning legs. The mountain doesn’t care if you’d rather pretend you’re fine. You either face what’s happening in your body, or it stops you in your tracks. It’s a lesson I’ve tried to dodge in life. Pain shows up, and my first instinct is to sidestep it. Stay busy. Scroll mindlessly. Pretend it’s nothing. But pain ignored doesn’t fade—it festers. A quiet discomfort turns into something heavy, something that grips tighter the …

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Wild Enough to Let It Be

There’s a strange kind of relief in realizing you don’t have to wrestle every answer to the ground. That not every moment needs to be neatly filed under ‘this is why it happened’ or ‘this is what it means.’ Some things just are. Some people just come and go. Some paths lead exactly where they were meant to, even if you had no idea at the start. Understanding always seemed like a prerequisite for moving forward. That if every chain reaction of events—who did what, what led to what, where the cracks began—could be untangled, peace would …

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All of Me: Claiming My True Self

I learned that when I ignore the quiet parts of myself that need care, I end up feeling anxious and mixed up inside. I saw how much I had been losing of my true thoughts, real feelings, and honest wishes when I stopped trying hard to get praise from others. Each time I pushed aside what mattered, I hurt myself deeply. For many years, I moved to a beat that wasn’t really mine. I took on roles that seemed safe but left me feeling empty, and I tried to fill that emptiness with short-lived comforts that only made things worse. The parts of me …

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Why No One Wants to Lead Your Design Team—And Why That’s Not Entirely Your Fault

A founder recently told me their "dream hire" for a Head of Design had slipped away. They had found the perfect candidate. Seasoned. Visionary. A leader who could transform their product and brand. They threw in a great salary, equity, and all the right perks. The candidate nodded, asked thoughtful questions, seemed engaged. And then? They disappeared. Not a rejection. Just silence. It wasn’t an isolated incident. I’ve heard this from multiple founders, and from design leaders on the other side who say they’re tired—tired of fighting for …

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Between Open Hearts and Guarded Walls

There’s a moment in life when sharing a personal truth lights up a room—like the time I spoke candidly at a small dinner and felt the warmth of honest nods all around. That singular, raw moment transformed a routine evening into a space of genuine connection. It felt like a switch flipped: my vulnerability not only deepened my bond with those around me but also invited them to open up in return. Yet, there’s another side to that coin. In a critical work meeting, I chose to keep my thoughts measured. I withheld details that might have stirred …

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The Voice in My Head Thinks I’m an Idiot (And Other Lies It Tells Me)

It starts with a whisper. A tiny, nagging thought. You’re going to mess this up. Before I know it, the whisper turns into a full-scale production. Everyone can see through you. You should probably disappear into the woods and live among creatures that don’t judge. For years, this voice had all the authority of a Supreme Court ruling. It dictated what was true: If anxiety showed up, that meant I wasn’t ready. If envy flared, that meant I was failing. If guilt sank its claws in, that meant I was a terrible person. The voice never considered …

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When Self-Doubt Knocks, Don’t Answer

Doubt has a way of creeping in, whispering that I should be different—stronger, smarter, less me. For years, I listened. Not anymore. Overthinking doesn’t solve problems; it just makes them bigger. So instead of spiraling into Why is this happening? or Am I overreacting?, I ask better questions. What part of this is mine to fix? Not who’s to blame? or why does this keep happening? Those lead nowhere. A better question: What’s actually in my control? And what’s just an old pattern playing out again? Trying to control others is like …

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