You’re always in the middle of a great story to be told
- mayadolgin
- Feb 23
- 4 min read
(February 23, 2026 Newsletter)
Like many of you, I spent many evenings over the last two weeks watching the Olympics, riveted by one story after the next of historic triumphs and heartbreaking failures.
Nowhere could we see the contrast more clearly than with Alysa Liu and Ilia Malinin, two figure skaters who had the highest and lowest moments of their careers, respectively.
Alysa retired after placing 7th at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, only to change her mind and come back to win gold this past week with relaxed and joyous programs.
Ilia was expected to win the gold last week and ended up finishing in 8th place at his first Olympic competition after falling a few times and missing big jumps.
The coverage of Alysa told one story – the glory of coming back on her own terms.
On the other hand, the coverage of Ilia told the story of an extremely talented athlete who crumbled under pressure.
While my Instagram and LinkedIn feeds have been dominated by pictures and videos celebrating Alysa, these examples reminded me of an invaluable lesson I take with me everywhere: we’re always somewhere in the middle of our story.
Why it matters
While no one who reads this newsletter (as far as I know) is competing for Olympic gold, plenty of you aim to Be The Best, or Do Your Best at work.
Many moments feel consequential. Sometimes even the most consequential. An impending product launch. A fundraise that will shape your organization’s future. A keynote at an upcoming event. A job interview that could change everything.
The focus on how high the stakes are in a pivotal moment or decision can be distracting or detracting, exactly when you need to be most focused and confident.
My reminders to stay steady
Connecting the dots back: My husband and I remind ourselves constantly of a Steve Jobs quote, “You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and it will make all the difference.”
This quote gives us perspective. It enables us to take the pressure off of any given high or low by recognizing that it’s just one data point that will make more sense in the future.
Learn, learn, learn: Remembering you’re always in the middle of the journey allows you to stay focused on Always Learning – as Ilia said, “you learn more by losing than winning.” Or in my words, it’s only a failure if you didn’t learn something from it.
This too shall pass: I also wrote about this recently. The Jewish phrase “This too shall pass” is helpful for both the highs and lows equally – to remember to relish the best moments because they will fade, and hold the low moments lightly because they won’t stay forever.
“Maybe”: this Story of a Chinese Farmer is a short and beautiful tale that we never know what “good” or “bad” plot points will lead to. (Funny enough, I learned of this parable from an ex-boyfriend. Was I sad when he broke up with me? Maybe…)
I hope that these reminders give you the same perspective I try to always embody and to share with my clients whenever possible.
Final thought: Just as Ilia is setting himself up for a powerful redemption story – as his skate at the Exhibition Gala showed – if you’re reading this and recently experienced a humiliating loss, rejection, or failure, remember that your story is not over.
Learn what you can, take a break (like Alysa did), and choose your next steps from a place of love.
The Coaching Corner
“And what did you learn from that?”
Take this question and ask it to every team member this week. Prompting their own self-reflection is a win-win: it will make them better and take the burden off of you to be setting their course for them.
Here are a bunch of variations so you don’t sound like a robot:
What are you taking from that experience?
How is that lesson going to stay with you?
What did you learn from that mistake?
What’s the lesson in there for you?
Recommendations
The 5 C’s of Strategic Thinking, Decision Making, and Delegating – A Dare to Lead resource. 5 criteria for getting people aligned before making decisions on new projects.
Podcast: “Following your purpose (not your passion) with comedian Zarna Garg” on Rethinking with Adam Grant. A delightful and refreshing perspective from someone who only found her “thing” thanks to her teenage daughter really recognizing her for who she is at her best.
"Nervous Systems Do Not Heal Alone" - an interesting article about how teams have a "nervous system," the limitations of individuals trying to regulate themselves in dysregulated systems, and what to do about it.
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