When you’re heading the wrong way, speed won’t help you.
4 July 2025
We all crave progress. Forward motion. Momentum.
But here’s the trap:
Progress in the wrong direction is just regret delivered at pace.
When coaching, I see it often … driven, capable, intelligent people - pushing hard toward goals they no longer believe in.
They are constantly and consistently confusing motion with meaning.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Sometimes the bravest move isn’t speeding up. It’s stopping. Pausing. Turning around and asking yourself (and others) something along the lines of:
“Is this still the right path?”
“What would it look like to stop grinding and start aligning?”
“What’s the cost of continuing in this direction?”
“Are we actually moving forward, or just chasing fast?”
“What part of this feels out of sync with who we are or what we value?”
“If we stopped right now, what decisions would we make differently?”
The goal isn’t just to move - it’s to move the right way.
Before you next try to accelerate, check your compass.
Speed only serves you if you are headed somewhere that matters.
Remember, the path to extraordinary is walked with a thousand small steps, you’re doing great!
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Barry Marshall-Graham
Executive coach and leadership advisor
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