As soon as I got on the call, I could tell that she wasn’t herself. When we worked together, her creativity and openness to new ideas made her unstoppable. Today she seemed smaller.

2026 has been a good year, and yet she sees storm clouds on the horizon. “Nothing is coming easy this year, and as we’re getting into budget season, all the feedback I’m hearing is about less work next year.”

I could hear how much she cares about how a slowdown in new business would impact her team. It felt heavy.

When you’re putting in maximum effort and aren’t seeing results, it’s discouraging. For me, that leads to a train of negative thoughts. “I’m not good at this. I’ve been faking this all these years. Maybe I need to find a j-o-b.” When we slowed down, she admitted her inner voice echoed similar fears. (You might have a voice like that too?)

When I notice this, I like to say, “My head has wandered into a bad neighborhood.” 

There’s no way my client has achieved the success she’s had over the last 10 years by sheer luck and charm. Of course she’s delivering massive results to clients; her website has the case studies to prove it. Those negative thoughts aren’t “true”; still, hearing a string of negative news from clients makes them feel true. 

Your team can tell, too.

As we kept talking, I also heard that her team is dropping more balls. They ask for her advice or permission more, too. Earlier this year, they pushed back on clients; now they are acting more like order takers, making even work with current clients feel hard.

Having our head in a bad neighborhood isn’t just about our thoughts; it’s contagious. Anxiety, stress, and negative future fantasies get picked up by everyone around us.

Our conversation continued, and she started grasping for solutions. “Should I try incorporating more AI into our work, or into our sales process? What about an acquisition?” 

It’s natural to start looking for answers “out there”; the world is changing, and that must be why things are “off.”

From my perspective, I see other clients whose businesses are facing the same budget cuts and external chaos, yet their energy and drive haven’t diminished. Something about the feedback she received was “sticking” to her in a way it never had before.

Slowing down to see what’s real

Slowing down to look at the reality of her situation opened her eyes. “This is the best team I’ve ever had,” she observed, “and they’re giving me more time than ever to hunt for new business.” She also saw how her services impact exactly the area where her clients feel weakest…slowly, her feet found solid ground. The storm clouds were still there, just less ominous. She left the call with a spring in her step and a story to bring back to her team. 

She might wander back into that bad neighborhood and need to refresh her memory, but hopefully she’ll see those thoughts sooner next time.

What is one thing that would free you from that bad neighborhood?