I'm emotional, but I'm not stuck
“I’m emotional, but I’m not stuck,” I blurted out as David, our business mentor, asked how I was doing.
“And that’s a good thing,” I added immediately. With snots running down my nose and my glassed fogged up with tears.
We were nearing the end of a 3-day sprint of intensive strategy over the weekend, working our heads off on the direction of Absorich, the education company I co-founded, up to the next 5-10 years.
The valley of death.
It is said that every business experiences a significant change at its 3, 5, 7, and 10-year marks. And with change comes challenges.
Absorich is now right at the 5-year mark. Challenging is not even the word for it. It’s downright humbling, while at the same time raging with fire and forces that will either fuel it up or burn it to the ground. 🔥
I refuse to let it become the latter. So there I was, at 11:23 PM on a Sunday night, looking at a Management Operation System where the business loopholes were more than just loops or holes—they’re the entire piece of the manila card where the system was laid on.
Raging in tears of frustration, I picked up a string that connected each of our processes, one by one, on to another.
Emotional, but not stuck.
What does this mean?
I was aware of the emotional state I was in.
It was way past my bedtime. Critical thinking and problem solving have left the building an hour ago.
We were analyzing operational processes. Given the time of the day, my Visionary brain was not in the mood for it.
Our management team was short one person. Whoever left was emotionally charged and, to some degree, frozen in shock.
If energy could be seen, it would be one heck of a fire pit, with crackling wood and sparks flying every few seconds, ready to swallow the whole thing down.
But I was not stuck.
Again, what does this mean?
Emotional resilience.
I wasn’t frozen. I was well aware of the emotional charge around us and the main thing we were dealing with. There’s been emotional friction going in the company that we wanted to deal with using logical processes—and we weren’t going anywhere with our discussion. Talk about mismatched energy.
Instead of shutting myself out or numbing down, I felt all the feels of rage and sadness and moved forward with the next immediate step.
Step #1: What is one thing we could do immediately that would help move the needle?
Step #2: Answer that.
For us at that time, was to pick a date for our first-ever town hall.
So, we picked a date and added it to our Google Calendar. We agreed on a few more action steps that felt doable for now, then decided to call it a day.
On to you, Reader.
Maybe staying up three days neck-deep in strategy isn’t in your job description. But if you could ask yourself.. Where are you emotional—and stuck right now? It could be personal, it could be professional.
And when things get too much, ask yourself:
“What is one thing you could do immediately to help you move forward to your success?”
Write that down. And do that within the next 3 days.
Remember, emotional ≠ stuck.
Now. On to the next thing.
🎖️ Some life & career updates (plus why they matter to you)
I’m excited to introduce my new brand, IntelligentSoul.co–shifting away from my own personal brand of Bella Bahari. This new direction is about making inner leadership a movement, a collective journey, and less centered on me personally. So from now on, you’ll receive emails from bella@intelligentsoul.co.
As the first female doctor-turned-entrepreneur in a family of schoolteachers and office executives, entrepreneurship is deeply personal to me. It’s also my first true expression of inner leadership—pursuing what I truly want rather than what I think I want or what’s expected of me. And while others may portray the entrepreneurial path as endless hustle and grind, I’m here to share the softer, more vulnerable side of this journey.
To the life you’re meant to live and the person you’re meant to be,
Bella
PS. Curious though, what do you think of the name Intelligent Soul?
