Just about every week, a client, friend, or acquaintance shares something with me that’s rather painful…and not like, “gee, that sucks” painful. I’m talking like, “I don’t share this with many people…” painful.

To be clear, it is a privilege to be entrusted with these personal and painful stories, as they are usually rich with insights. However, I can also tell you that there are two words that always come up that I wish we would all stop using: FIX IT.

Several weeks ago, my husband and I met with an architect to articulate a vision for our family’s future home.

“A take on Nordic modern, with a warmer palette and loads of windows to maximize natural light…” we blathered with unqualified confidence.

The architect graciously replied, “Can you share some pictures with me?”

Of course, we had a few ready because we’d been geeking out on the idea of building a home for years, but it wasn’t until we were asked to share them that I realized just how undefined and incoherent our ‘good' ideas still were.

There’s a performative security we’ve gained from setting S.M.A.R.T goals year after year, and for those of us who’ve bounced around the corporate world, drafting those specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals has become an increasingly meaningless ritual.