The finding that surprised me most


Hello Reader,

Last time I sent you the shape of the whole survey, along with the link to the full report if you have not grabbed it yet. Today I want to slow down on one piece of it, because it is the one that changes how you read everything else.

Fifty of the 86 said their operations are working okay.
Fifty-two said they are keeping up.
Only two said very well.

There is a name for that middle place. The psychologist Corey Keyes calls it languishing, the state between distress and flourishing, where things are functional and quietly stuck. It is not crisis. It never feels urgent enough to fix. That is exactly what makes it last for years.

Here is the part that made me sit up. Among the group who said they are both keeping up and working okay, twelve still reported burnout. Steady on paper and carrying real weight underneath it are not the same thing.

So a short question, just for you, no need to reply unless you want to.

Where do you actually land?
Ahead of it, keeping up, falling behind, or breaking.

And separately, how is your current approach working?
Very well, well, okay, poorly, not at all.

Most people land in the same square as the 86. Keeping up, working okay. If that is you, you are not behind. You are steady, which is the harder thing to build, and the one deliberate step away from flourishing rather than five.

With gratitude,
Erin Peshoff, Founder
Partner with Vivid

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