You’re Not Lost, You’re Learning the Terrain

Why clarity often comes after the winding road

Author

Vickie Poole
February 11, 2026

Did someone forward this email to you? How wonderful!
You sure have some good friends.

Let’s get you your own subscription so you never miss a week.

A few years ago, I stopped trusting straight lines.

Not because I don’t like clarity, I do,
but because every time I thought I’d finally “figured it out,”
life added a bend I didn’t see coming.

At first, I treated those bends like evidence that I was doing something wrong.

Too slow.
Too scattered.
Too late.

But over time, something quieter and truer started to land.

What if the winding wasn’t a mistake?
What if it was training?

Most of us were taught to expect our lives to move like a checklist:
step one, step two, arrive.

And when that doesn’t happen, comparison creeps in.
We measure our timing against someone else’s certainty
and decide we must have missed a turn.

But here’s the thing I’ve learned the hard way:

A path that teaches you discernment, resilience, boundaries, empathy, and self-trust
rarely looks efficient while you’re walking it.

Some seasons exist to stretch you.
Some exist to slow you down.
Some exist to teach you how to hold what you’ve been asking for.

And some seasons, the quiet, confusing ones
are simply preparing you for alignment you couldn’t have handled earlier.

There were moments in my own life I once labeled as detours
that later revealed themselves as protection.

Things that didn’t work out
that would have cost me myself if they had.

The longer I live, the more I believe this:

Your life isn’t late.
It’s precise.

Success isn’t about racing toward a finish line someone else invented.
It’s about building a life that feels honest when you wake up inside it.

Sometimes that means choosing fulfillment over optics.
Boundaries over busyness.
Depth over speed.

And sometimes it means trusting that what looks unfinished
is simply still becoming.

3 Quotes to Ponder

• “Clarity often comes after commitment, not before.”

• “A slower path can still be a sacred one.”

• “You don’t need a straight line to arrive, you need integrity.” Thought

Thought Experiments to Try Today

The Protection Reframe
Think of one thing that didn’t happen when you wanted it to.
Ask yourself: What might this have been protecting me from?
Let yourself consider that the delay may have been purposeful.

The Fulfillment Check
Look at one area of your life where you’re very busy.
Now ask: Does this actually fulfill me or just keep me occupied?
Notice what your body tells you before your mind answers.

This Week’s Affirmation

Write this somewhere you’ll see it today:

“I trust the timing of my life.
I release the need to rush what is still forming
and allow clarity to meet me where I am.”

You don’t need to force the next step.
You need to listen for it.

Journal Prompt

Set aside a few quiet minutes and explore this honestly:

Where in my life am I mistaking preparation for delay
and what would change if I trusted this season more?

No fixing required.
Just noticing.

Book I’m Reflecting On This Week

The Path Made Clear — Oprah Winfrey
👉 https://amzn.to/4cn9X6p

This book isn’t about finding a single, perfect answer.
It’s about recognizing how direction reveals itself over time through intuition, experience, and reflection.

What I appreciate most is its reminder that purpose isn’t discovered by force.
It’s clarified through presence.

A beautiful companion for anyone learning to trust their own terrain.

Ready for a Powerful Next Step?

If you feel caught between knowing something needs to shift
and not wanting to force the wrong move,
I offer Decision Reset Sessions.

This is a private 45-minute session designed to help you identify
the belief or internal rule that’s keeping you stuck
and reset it so clarity can emerge naturally.

It’s not a pep talk.
It’s grounded, precise, transformational work.

Book your Decision Reset here:
👉 https://buy.stripe.com/cNi6oG2NPdr10qlczm6wE0V

With love,
Vickie 🍑
Life is delicious.

Remember, I'm here to support you on this journey!

Special For Today

Identity Upgrade: Hypnotic Confidence Transformation IdentityIf you’re ready to stop trying to be the next version of you, and actually become them…I created a guided hypnosis experience called Identity Upgrade.

This isn’t a feel-good moment.It’s a full-body reset that helps you release the beliefs keeping you stuck so you can show up as the person who gets booked, seen, paid and deeply rooted in her power. Plug in. Close your eyes. Shift everything.