When You’re Spinning

When You’re Spinning

What a Dropped Wi-Fi Connection Taught Me About Decision-Making and Direction

The other day I joined a peer-to-peer coaching call.

Camera on.
Notebook ready.
Tea beside me.

I’d been looking forward to it all morning.

We started talking… and then—

“Sarah, you’re freezing.”

My screen glitched.
Voices went robotic.
Faces pixelated into tiny squares.

Then the message appeared:
Your internet connection is unstable.

I tried everything.
Reconnect.
Move closer to the router.
Apologise.
Smile awkwardly.
“Can you hear me now?”

For a few minutes, we weren’t coaching at all.

We were just… buffering.

Starting sentences that cut off halfway.
Talking over each other.
Losing the thread.

Not because we lacked insight or intention.

But because we weren’t properly connected.

And afterwards, it struck me:

This is exactly what happens when we try to make decisions in life without being oriented.

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The Spin

You probably know the feeling.

You’re trying to decide something that matters.

A new role.
A shift in direction.
Whether to say yes or no.
How to move forward.

So you gather information.

More thinking.
More conversations.
More tabs open.
More “just one more article…”

And yet—rather than clarity—you feel foggy.

Busy, but stuck.

Like a screen with that little spinning wheel.

Working hard.
Going nowhere.

---

The Real Issue Isn’t Capability

In coaching conversations, I see this pattern often.

People assume they’re stuck because they:

• don’t know enough

• aren’t confident enough

• haven’t figured it out yet

But most of the time, that’s not the truth.

They are deeply capable.

They’ve just lost signal.

They’re trying to process life without connection to:

• what matters most to them

• how they’re resourced right now

• what season they’re actually in

• the values and strengths that steady them

When orientation is missing, every option feels equally loud.

When you don’t know where north is, every direction feels wrong.

---

It’s Not More Thinking We Need

When my Wi-Fi dropped on that call, I didn’t try to speak louder or explain better.

That wouldn’t have helped.

I had to pause and check the connection.

Only then could the conversation flow.

But in life, we often do the opposite.

When clarity fades, we push harder.
We overthink.
Over-analyse.
Over-explain.

As if effort alone will restore signal.

It rarely does.

---

Orienteering, Not Overthinking

Living in Switzerland, I often think about hiking and orienteering.

There’s a difference between wandering and navigating.

Wandering keeps you moving, hoping the path makes sense.

Orienteering asks you to stop.
Locate yourself.
Notice the terrain.
Choose a bearing.
Then move.

Same mountain.
Very different energy.

Decision-making works the same way.

Clarity doesn’t come from more motion.
It comes from re-orientation.

---

Reconnecting Before Deciding

Before making a choice, I now pause and ask:

• What do I know about myself when I’m at my best?

• What matters most in this season of my life?

• Am I responding from alignment—or from urgency?

• What feels quietly true, even if it isn’t loud or impressive?

These questions don’t rush an answer.

They restore connection.

And something shifts.

The spinning slows.

Not because the decision becomes easy—
but because it becomes anchored.

---

The Gift of Signal Bars

When the Wi-Fi stabilised on that call, everything changed instantly.

No drama.
Just flow.

Conversation.
Listening.
Presence.

That’s what self-trust often feels like too.

Not fireworks.
Not perfect certainty.

Just quiet signal bars.

“I know enough to take the next step.”

Not the whole map.
Just the next step.

And that is enough.

---

An Invitation

If you feel like you’re spinning right now—
circling a decision, second-guessing yourself, trying to force clarity—

maybe you don’t need more information.

Maybe you need reconnection.

Close a few tabs.
Step back from the noise.
Come home to yourself.

Because when we’re disconnected, everything buffers.

But when we’re oriented?

Even foggy paths feel walkable.

Check signals first.
Only then, move.

I’m Sarah Cretegny, a Personal and Business Development Coach and Collaboration Catalyst. I create brave spaces where creative leaders and their teams – especially those committed to meaningful impact – can reconnect with who they truly are, so they can lead with greater clarity, courage, and purpose, even in uncertain times, and create sustainable impact.

I’m particularly effective when time is limited and the stakes are high. I draw on evidence-based coaching approaches, strengths expertise, and my lived experience of balancing leadership, family life, and international living. I’m deeply passionate about partnering with people to coach their wild, because the world needs more authentic leadership now more than ever.

I am based in Lausanne, Switzerland and coach virtually globally. Find my links: https://linktr.ee/discover.your.wild