The Unexpected Lessons About Clarity From Two Holes in My Ceiling
Soooo…this has been a week!
On one hand, I experienced two pretty incredible professional highs — a mention in the ABA Journal* and my conversation on the podcast “Great Practice. Great Life,” hosted by Steve Riley went live.
However, here’s what was happening at the exact same time: 75% of my living room was under unexpected construction thanks to a leak from the unit above me.
If you’ve ever undergone a renovation, you can likely relate to having furniture under layers of plastic, hardwood floors covered with brown construction paper with heavy duty cloths on top, and areas of your home sealed off.
In other words: not fun.
Having two holes in your ceiling can certainly “kill” a vibe! Oh, and the DUST that is EVERYWHERE doesn’t help.
Needless to say, this week has been disruptive to my schedule and plans to say the least, and things won’t likely be back to “normal” for a few more days.
But, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
So what does my story have to do with you — especially with regard to wrapping up 2025 and getting ready for 2026?
A lot actually!
Because disruptions — whether physical, emotional, or financial — have a way of revealing things we didn’t realize we needed to see.
My experience this week reminds me of the saying,
“what you know, what you know you don’t know; what you don’t know you don’t know.”
You’ve heard it before, right?
It also reminds me of the costs of what you can’t see and don’t notice:
money, peace of mind, time, opportunities – oh, and let’s not forget stress and depleted energy.
And, I have experienced ALL of these this week.
It reminds me of the power and role of clarity.
You make decisions and choices every day.
Sometimes you are clear-eyed when doing so — you’re clear about your goals, priorities, and choices.
Other times, your thinking is foggy be it due to a lack of data, insight, or both. And the actions that follow are without direction and purpose.
Decisions and choices made in this state don’t stay contained — they leak.
And sometimes you don’t realize how far that leak has spread until something forces you to look up — literally or figuratively.
And that leak - that lack of clarity - has a price.
And the ripple effects can be subtle — procrastination, regret, reactive choices, even strained relationships.
Things to Keep in Mind
First, I want to affirm that unclear thinking isn’t a character flaw — it’s human. More like a lack of perspective.
That said, I do believe it’s important to check in with yourself so you can get clear about what YOU want and need!
Do you know what it would take to finish 2025 strong and to start 2026 on solid ground?
Second, I want to remind you that clarity isn’t static, it evolves, and it is renewable.
That’s why it’s important to give yourself permission to change your mind about what you want and need; the things and relationships that are a priority for you; and to make choices that are different today than the ones you’ve made in the past.
When you read that, what immediately came to mind for you? Whatever surfaces, pay attention to it…
Third, when circumstances reveal you’re lacking clarity to make a choice or take the next step, remember this: your greatest power lies in pausing and tapping into the power of the right questions.
And maybe right now a question to ponder is this:
What’s one area — big or small — where indecision might be costing you more than you realize?
The Relationship Between Clarity & Enoughness
Year-end frequently comes with a gnarly, but natural tendency: to compare our experiences and results to that of others — whether that’s professionally, financially, or personally — or to where we thought we’d be by this time.
These comparisons can often trigger anxiety and that’s why clarity matters now more than ever.
Turns out, clarity can be an incredible shield to protect you from traveling too far down that rabbit hole.
It can help you reclaim your sense of enoughness because you’re defining success based on your values, capacity, and the season you’re in — not someone else’s benchmarks.
Here’s how I see it: it’s pretty powerful when you can embrace the idea that there’s a relationship between the clarity you have (and pursue) and the depth of your own sense of feeling “enough.”
It can reduce the friction between what is and what you wish it was; it can help you to stop fretting about what’s missing; it can reduce the amount of wishful thinking — as in wishing you had made different choices.
Clarity & the Unexpected
And as I discovered this week, clarity can help you navigate the unexpected.
But as my experience highlighted, there are different levels of “unexpectedness” — from extremely unexpected to extremely expected (thank you, Lickert Scale).
My experience could best be described as moderately unexpected; here’s why: The leak in the unit above me started last year — we thought we knew which bathroom was the culprit, and what was causing it.
Every time there was one, the plumber would fix it — but re-tiling and re-caulking their bathtubs was proving to be insufficient. The leaks were becoming more frequent and the time span between them was shorter.
Last Sunday was the tipping point, confirming the one thing I knew was likely, but really didn’t want to do — have two holes cut in my ceiling to “trace” the source of their leak, which was hidden.
Let’s face it, though, at whatever level you experience an unexpected event, it usually disrupts something — if not many things.
I’m grateful for friends who opened their home to me during this time; for financial resources to eat more meals out than I usually do; and for calls that didn’t require me to be in my space.
When you reflect on 2025 thus far, how many unexpected events have you encountered — and where would you place them on the Lickert Scale?
And how could this type of list help you get ready for the unexpected events that are bound to happen in 2026?
Because clarity doesn’t prevent the unexpected — but it does make you stronger, steadier, and more resourced when it arrives.
If this email brought anything to the surface — a leak you’ve been ignoring, a decision you’ve been postponing, a desire that’s ready to be named — I’d be honored to support you. My Clarity Session is a 90-minute deep dive designed to help you sort through the noise, see what’s hidden, and make choices that reflect who you are now and where you want to go next. [click here]
p.s. *To access the ABA Journal article, you must have an active ABA Journal membership.
About Jacquette
I love to ask questions and spark aha moments. I love to talk about why success with money is about more than just the numbers, and how the cultural impact on the intersection of money, business, and life matters–A LOT! And, I really hope I help people feel seen, heard, and not judged—especially since money is emotional and personal.
