When plans don't go as planned

Starting a business has been one of the most creative seasons of my life. It’s also full of resistance.

Not the dramatic kind. The quieter kind.
The silence after putting something into the world.
The moments when the response doesn’t match the effort.
The inner voice that questions: “Are you sure this is working?”

It would be easy to see these moments as failure. But leadership, whether in organisations, humanitarian crises, or as a solopreneur, has taught me something different: resistance is not the end, it’s the beginning.

I think back to my years in the humanitarian sector. Plans rarely went the way we imagined. We were told not to ask certain questions, or blocked from gathering the data we thought we needed. Yet, I never saw those obstacles as a reason to stop.

Because the bigger ambition was always clear.
If one path closed, we found another.
Even when the plan bent, the purpose held steady.

That’s what resistance really does: it tests how tightly you grip your plan, and how clearly you remember your purpose.

Over time, I learned that:

• Resistance sparks creativity.

• Resistance builds resilience.

• Resistance shapes the story of how we adapt.

• Resistance pushes us to learn.

And that perspective matters now. Because when the resistance shows up in my work today, I can remind myself: I’ve done this before. In harder places. With higher stakes.

The skill is not avoiding resistance. The skill is meeting it without losing sight of what matters most.

That’s the kind of work I do with my clients, helping them hold their plans with purpose, but not so tightly they miss the signals, the possibilities, the unexpected openings.

It’s so easy to wait for clarity, for confidence, for the “right” opportunity. But in my experience, those rarely arrive on their own. They come when you start moving, even through resistance.

If you've been waiting for clarity to show up and you're still lost, consider this your nudge.

The Talent Bridge workshop is next week (2nd October Thursday 1000-1300 CET).  In 4 hours, you’ll walk away with language you can use in conversations and applications, and a fresh perspective on what you bring.

I’ve kept it low-cost at €100, so it’s an easy yes. But the real shift comes when you take the opportunity. And it’s happening next week (Thursday), so don’t wait. Step in and create the change yourself.

Something to think about:

What plan in your life feels heavy because it isn’t going as imagined?
And what would it take to loosen your grip and take one small step forward this week?

With you,

Linda

Founder of Touching Distance