It was an early summer day, and the women attending my Rest and Rise Retreat for Women in Real Estate were gathered on a spacious deck nestled in the lush West Coast forest of Bowen Island. We were there for yoga before starting our summer planning session, ocean in the distance, blackberry bushes climbing the hillside, and a stillness so deep you could hear your own breath. It felt as if the noise and busyness of the world were eons away, not just a 20-minute ferry ride.

As I settled into downward facing dog, I noticed a bumblebee beside me, frantically hurling itself against the glass railing surrounding the deck. Again and again. Trembling. Exhausted. Desperate to get through to the other side.

What struck me was that he wasn’t trapped. There was open air behind him. He could have flown under the railing, up and over it, or simply turned around. But he couldn’t see it. All he knew was that he wanted what was on the other side of the glass. And he was determined to get there his way . . . even though it wasn’t working.

I watched him for several minutes. I even tried to redirect him, careful to not get myself stung. He’d stop now and then to rest on the wooden ledge that framed the barrier, only to launch himself at the glass again, trying to force what wouldn’t yield.

And all I could think was: How often do humans do the exact same thing?

How often do we get fixated on a single strategy, a single timeline, a single idea of how it’s “supposed” to go, only to find ourselves exhausted, anxious, and making no real progress?

I will be the first to admit I have been there a time or two.

We bang against our own invisible walls. Convinced that if we just try harder, we’ll break through. But sometimes . . . we’re not supposed to break through. We’re supposed to pivot.

There was so much freedom available to that little bee, if only he could have paused long enough to see it. But he was focused on the situation, so he couldn’t see the solutions. And the same is true for us.

So I’ll ask you what I asked the women on the deck that day:

Where in your life or business are you acting like that bumblebee and pushing and pushing in one direction, even though it’s not working?

What might open up if you stopped, looked around, and considered that the path to what you want might not be the straightest one, but it might be the most possible?

That’s where a coach comes in. Not to push you harder, but to help you pause, shift perspective, and find the opening you’ve been missing.

When your nose is pressed up against the glass, you can’t see the other options. But a coach can. A coach isn’t in the same stuck place. They can say, “Hey, there’s another way.”

And I can promise you this: there is always another way.

And yes, even as a coach, I have a coach. Because I know what it feels like to be stuck in a single way of thinking. I know how powerful it is to have someone who can lovingly redirect me toward freedom, flow, and possibility.

If you’re feeling like that bumblebee, tired, stuck, doing all the things and still not getting where you want to go, maybe it’s time to stop forcing and start seeing.

Let’s find the opening together.

Ready for a new way forward? Let’s talk.