[MTM] Nothing is wrong–you’re between chapters

December 30, 2025 | Issue Archive

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Neither the end nor the beginning

I always notice a strange energy around this time of year.

Not quite the end of one chapter.

Not quite the beginning of the next.

Plans are in flux.

Momentum slows.

Familiar patterns start to resurface.

Clarity feels just out of reach.

For people who value progress, clarity, and momentum, this in-between space can feel uncomfortable.

We tell ourselves we should:

  • have answers by now
  • feel more motivated
  • be clearer about what’s next

But here’s a truth that doesn’t get talked about enough:

Transformation doesn’t happen at the ending or the beginning.

It happens in the space between.

This is the moment when:

  • old patterns loosen their grip
  • external validation quiets down
  • identity starts to recalibrate

And that can feel disorienting.

Not because something is wrong—

but because something new is forming.

Most people rush this space.

They fill it with noise, distraction, or premature decisions.

And then they wonder why the “new year” feels suspiciously familiar.

But the people who truly elevate—leaders, parents, creators, humans—do something different.

They stay.

They practice being steady without certainty.

They allow the pause to teach them.

They don’t abandon themselves just because the future hasn’t fully revealed itself yet.

If you’re feeling:

  • a lull instead of momentum
  • quiet instead of clarity
  • uncertainty instead of excitement

Try this simple reframe:

Nothing is wrong. I am between chapters.

You don’t need to force the next version of yourself into existence.

You need to let this moment do its work.

Because how you are in the in-between...

determines who you become next.

And that…

is mastering the moments.


This Ends Now

End the belief that uncertainty means you’re behind.

You are not failing.

You are transitioning.


This Moment Matters

Instead of rushing answers today:

  • Notice where you’re tempted to control.
  • Choose presence over pressure.
  • Let one quiet moment be enough.

That’s how calm becomes confidence.


If this resonates, sit with it. You don’t need to do anything else.

As always, I’m grateful to be on this journey with you.

Honored that you allow me to meet you here every week.

And excited to see where we go in 2026.

Grace, peace, and blessings to you, my friend.

Up we go—


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Mastering the Moments: Helping You Reclaim Peace and Power Through Intentional Endings

I’m Shawn Ellis—Resilience Strategist, keynote speaker, and creator of the Choose Your Ending™ method and the 5 C’s of Radical Adaptability. My newsletter, Mastering the Moments, delivers bold, heartfelt insights to help you let go of what’s no longer working—so you can lead with clarity, courage, and purpose in a world that won’t slow down.