Last week, I felt off. Simple tasks that should have been routine became oddly difficult. My focus wavered, and resistance — an uninvited guest — began to settle in. As someone who teaches well-being and high performance, I approached this moment with curiosity. This wasn’t a failure; it was a chance to apply the tools I’ve shared with hundreds of thousands of people around the world.
First, I turned to my rhythms of resilience. These personal habits, when aligned, serve as a springboard for well-being. My Oura ring confirmed what I already sensed: sufficient restorative rest — an average sleep score of 85 out of 100 over the week. Despite a slight headache and a tickle in the throat, my energy was steady.
But something wasn’t right. Entrepreneurs often soldier on, pushing through challenges unless physically forced to stop. I canceled a few meetings to ease the load but pressed ahead on tasks that couldn’t be postponed. Yet, the fog persisted. It wasn’t just physical fatigue. Mentally, I was scattered, flitting from one task to another, unable to settle. As the day wore on, I found myself feeling depleted, frustrated and increasingly self-critical.
Related: 4 Tips Every Entrepreneur Can Use To Get Unstuck
At the Resilience Institute, we often say that high performance is impossible without care. But in business, there are moments when the demand to perform feels non-negotiable. Whether it’s a critical sales call or an unmissable podcast recording, sometimes the show must go on. So, I kept going. Yet, beneath the effort, I knew something more profound was missing.
My forthcoming book, Start With Values, speaks to this very point. It explores how our core values — whether consciously realized or not — are the drivers behind every meaningful action. When our actions align with our values, even the smallest task brings a sense of fulfillment. This alignment creates the conditions for a life that feels resonant and alive. But last week, my actions weren’t aligned, and I could feel it.
Stepping back, I engaged in a process I’ve come to rely on: metacognition. This practice allows me to observe my thoughts as they arise, without judgment. As I watched my thoughts — frustration, impatience, self-criticism — I applied the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I accepted that I wasn’t in my optimal state and then committed to finding a solution rooted in my values.
Suddenly, it became clear: creativity, one of my top three core values, had been absent from my week. Creativity, for me, is about curiosity, exploration, and producing something new. It’s a vital part of who I am, and without it, my work becomes mechanical, draining and disconnected. The lack of creative engagement was quietly eating away at my sense of well-being.
Related: Stuck In a Rut? Here Are 15 Ways to Pull Yourself Out of a Bad Situation.
I hadn’t created anything meaningful all week. And freedom, another key value, had also been neglected. I had confined myself indoors, skipping my usual outdoor runs and fresh air breaks because I felt slightly under the weather. For me, freedom isn’t just physical; it’s the ability to think, reflect and move without constraint. My routines had become rigid, and the absence of this flexibility was stifling.
The third value, kindness, was notably absent too. I wasn’t being kind to myself or others. Kindness, in its truest form, isn’t just about generosity toward others — it’s about showing compassion to yourself, especially when you fall short. Last week, I had been harsh, demanding more from myself without offering the care or space I needed to thrive.
Reconnecting with my values wasn’t an overnight transformation, but it was a beginning. I restructured my day — not the whole week, just the next hour. I found a creative outlet. An idea for a social media post that had been swirling in the back of my mind for months finally found its moment. It had sat unresolved, like a loose thread, generating low-level anxiety in the landscape of unfinished tasks. How many ideas and tasks do we leave undone, silently adding unnecessary weight to our mental load?
Once I allowed myself to enter a state of creative flow, everything shifted. Within that hour, I felt fulfillment returning. Guilt dissipated. Had I forced myself to grind through emails and Teams chats, I likely would have accomplished little of real value. Instead, I created something meaningful, something that aligned with my values. It was a reminder that creative expression isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity for those of us who value it deeply.
Related: How I Pulled Myself Out of Burnout and Turned My Ambitions Into Reality
After this, I stepped outside. I allowed the sun to stroke my skin for a few moments, reconnecting with my value of freedom. That brief intermission was enough to recalibrate my energy. When I returned to the mundane tasks I had been avoiding, they no longer seemed insurmountable. I had shifted from frustration to clarity, from self-criticism to flow. In one afternoon, I had realigned with my values, and that alignment made all the difference.
This is what it means to live a values-aligned life. Our values are the foundation of resilience, guiding us when we feel lost or disconnected. By reconnecting with them, we unlock purpose, joy and clarity. This isn’t just a philosophical concept — it’s a practical tool for navigating the complexities of modern life. When you feel off, as I did last week, don’t just push harder. Pause. Reflect. Realign your actions with your values. In doing so, you’ll find that the path forward becomes not only clearer but lighter.
