I didn't expect it to be so hard to come back.

After a whole month off—and completely unplugging from work for maybe the first time in 15 years—I thought for sure I'd return home totally refreshed and ready to dive back in.

Instead, I came back and felt...nothing.

Zero motivation. No spark. No buzzing checklist in my brain telling me what needed to be done next.

And honestly? It freaked me out a little.

Because that's just not me. I'm the wake-up-at-4am, make-my-list, get-stuff-done kind of person. Even on weekends, I'm jotting down projects and tasks because I love having a plan and checking things off.

But for almost a week after I got back, all I wanted to do was drink coffee with Chuck, hang out with my girls and my dogs, and just...be.

Which sounds lovely in theory, but in practice, it left me wondering: 

Who am I if I don't want to work?

Finally, instead of beating myself up for not feeling motivated, I decided to lean into it. 

I took the rare opportunity of having nothing on my to-do list to take a step back and look at the big picture. 

I dove deep into numbers and metrics I don't always pay attention to. I asked myself the harder questions: Are we actually moving the needle, or are we just staying busy? Are we serving our clients the way we want to? What's working and what's not?

And you know what? 

That pause—what started as a total slump—ended up giving me incredible clarity. All of a sudden, ideas started flowing again. 

My creative spark came back, stronger than ever. And now this week I’m raring to go with so many new ideas, I hardly even know where to start.

It reminded me of something I read years ago in Jim Collins' book Good to Great. He talks about something called the Stockdale Paradox, named after Admiral Jim Stockdale, who survived seven years as a prisoner of war.

When asked how he made it through, Stockdale said: "You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be."

Along those same lines, Albert Camus once wrote: "In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer."

In other words? Life moves in seasons.

There will always be slumps, or setbacks, or days and weeks where everything just feels "blah.”

That’s normal.

But what I’ve learned is that those “nothing” season, those moments of meh, are always temporary. Just like those good times, nothing lasts forever.

And often, it's that very act of pausing—of being willing to confront the brutal facts—that creates the space for new growth.

I know this because I've lived it.

Back in my early twenties, I went through the darkest period of my life. I battled severe depression, attempted suicide multiple times, and basically blew up everything—my marriage, my education, my finances, my relationships. 

The hole I dug for myself felt impossible to climb out of.

But I did climb out. One small step at a time. And I've now been depression-free for almost 30 years.

That experience taught me something I've carried with me ever since: no matter how dark it gets, no matter how impossible it feels, there is always a way forward. Always.

So if you're in your own slump right now—whether it's post-vacation blues, post-project letdown, or just one of those seasons where everything feels heavy—please hear me on this: don't beat yourself up about it.

Give yourself permission to rest. Permission to step back. Permission to not be "on" all the time.

But also be willing to confront the brutal facts of where you are. What's really going on? What's working and what's not? And what needs to change?

Because we're heading into fall now—my favorite time of year because it always feels like a fresh start—and I want to challenge you to do exactly what I'm doing: take an honest look at where you are, face the reality of what's not working, but then decide how you're going to finish the year strong.

Don't coast. Don't settle. Choose the spark.

Because your invincible summer is still there, just waiting to break through.

Live with purpose, friend, and have a wonderful week!

xoxo, Ruth

P.S. I'd love to hear from you—what's one way you want to finish strong this year? Just hit reply to this email and let me know!

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