Belinda Beatty

Transition:  to make a change from one state, place, or condition to another. Momentum:  the quantity of motion of a moving body. I sit here, at some undefined point beyond mid, but not yet late, January, in a quagmire. Quagmire is a strong word. Yet the density of its syllables resonates with the stickiness and weight that can prevent forward momentum. I can see the shape of 2026 beginning to form ahead of me, and I lean towards it. It feels like a year where the effort and growth of 2025...

For years, I believed success came first and happiness followed.   That belief made sense in the environments I was operating in. In the cockpit of a military aircraft, precision mattered. Discipline mattered. Emotion felt like something to manage, suppress, or park until later. On stage as a performer, confidence was essential, but again, it felt like something you earned  once everything else was perfect.   What I discovered, through lived experience in both worlds, is that we had it...

For years, I believed the same myth many high performers fall into: once I feel motivated, I’ll take action . It sounds logical, sensible even, but it is completely backwards.   Whether I was flying military aircraft at speed or stepping onto a stage under bright lights, one truth became impossible to ignore: motivation does not come first. Action does.   In high-stakes environments, you don’t get the luxury of waiting until you “feel ready”. You act, and motivation follows.   Motivation Is...