Over the past year, something has been quietly changing for me. After years of working tirelessly – building a career, supporting clients, growing a business (while trying to parent and manage a household) – I’ve found myself asking some different questions.
What I’ve been reflecting on isn’t driven by dissatisfaction. Quite the opposite. The work I’ve done over the years has been deeply meaningful, working alongside clients, building Decipher Group over more than 18 years, and contributing in ways that genuinely matter to me. This hasn’t been about being busy for the sake of it. It’s been purposeful, rewarding and something I’m incredibly proud of.
Alongside this, I’ve started to notice a quiet tension. While I’ve built a career and a life that I value deeply, I haven’t often stopped to ask whether I’m taking or creating the opportunity to enjoy all the parts of the life we’ve built.
At the same time, I’ve been reflecting on the life we’ve created as a family. My husband’s career has also been intense, and that intensity has enabled him to thrive and progress in a way that has created opportunities for both of us. It has afforded us a lifestyle that we’re incredibly grateful for – and increasingly, one that we want to make more time to enjoy.
And somewhere in all of this, I’ve started to ask: what does the next phase look like for me?
Not in a distant “retirement” sense, but in a much more immediate and practical way – how do I continue to contribute meaningfully, while also creating room to enjoy the life we’ve worked so hard to build?
And so I’ve found myself asking a different set of questions:
- How much do we actually need?
- What do I really enjoy doing?
- What genuinely fills my cup?
- And, can I really have it all?
The shift: from volume to value
For a long time, success for me looked like action – growth, output, and always being “on.” And to be fair, that approach has served me well. It has created opportunities, relationships, and a life I’m incredibly grateful for. But lately, I’ve been questioning whether tireless effort is still the right measure of success for me – and one that I can continue to physically and emotionally thrive in (or endure).
It’s not that I don’t love my work. My business, Decipher Group, has grown alongside me for more than 18 years and I don’t intend to stop working. But I am thinking more deliberately about how I want to keep working.
What’s developing in my thinking is a longing to work more impactfully – not less meaningfully, but more intentionally. Less about doing more, and more about doing what matters – for me.
It’s a subtle but significant shift:
- From saying yes to everything to being more selective (including learning to say No).
- From filling time to creating room (to think, to plan, to act with intention)
- From proving value to choosing where I add value
This change in thinking has certainly not been comfortable – particularly with my deeply embedded measures of success linked to action – and it is very much a work in progress.
The reality of different paces
One of the complexities in all of this is that not everyone is in the same place at the same time.
My husband, for example, is in a senior executive role with a significant workload and responsibility. His world is still very much in that “tireless” phase – and understandably so.
This has made me realise that this isn’t about both of us changing at once. It’s about finding a way to evolve at different paces, while still moving forward together.
Redefining “having it all”
I’ve also been sitting with the idea of whether we can truly “have it all.” I think the answer is yes – but not in the way I once defined it.
Earlier in my career, “having it all” meant: Career growth, financial progression, saying Yes to opportunity. Now, it’s starting to look more like: Doing work that has genuine impact, having the freedom to choose how I spend my time, creating opportunities to actually enjoy the life we’ve built.
Not less ambition, just a different kind.
What I am finding out
I haven’t cracked this yet, but a few things are becoming clearer:
- We often need less than we think – but more clarity about what matters
- “Filling your cup” is rarely about doing nothing – it’s about doing the right things for you/me
- Letting go of volume or action can feel uncomfortable, even when it’s the right move
- And perhaps most importantly, this is something we can design, not fall into
This feels like the beginning of a new chapter for me – one where I’m being more intentional about how I work, where I contribute, and how I live.
I’m interested to hear how others have navigated a similar shift in thinking or doing. What has “working differently” started to look like for you?
Leanne Crozier
This is the first in a short series as I consider what it really means for me to move from working tirelessly to working impactfully – and how I am learning to make that shift.