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When You're on the Bridge to Everywhere
the options are endless. your energy, though? not so much.
Jen Phillips
November 18, 2025
Hi it's Jen,
We’re all standing on the bridge from now to next. And lately, it feels less like a crossing and more like a damn suspension bridge in a windstorm.
The world is shifting faster than we can plan for. We’re trying to keep up, skill up, and live the life we actually want… while everything around us changes daily.
When I was considering leaving my exec role at Salesforce, I made the classic mistake:
I kept every option open for too long.
Ideas that burned bright. Opportunities that might be something. Back channels. Plan A, B, C…all competing for the same mental real estate.
And eventually, all that optionality didn’t make me safer.
It made me exhausted.
The second I chose the right destination for me (out), I felt lighter.
And suddenly, saying no to everything else became easy.
In today's issue:
More is more (and that’s exhausting)
The relief of "definitely not now"
Read time: 6 minutes
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The minute I got on the other side of said executive role, I started considering my NEW options. I told myself there was no rush. That I’d built a runway to allow for healing. But honestly (no cap, is it?), my mind is wired to WORK. To make. To build.
So I started researching my options. And there are a lot of options out here in this world as it changes faster than ever before.
I told myself, “I'm keeping my options open because the market is insane. And I don’t want to burn bridges. I don't want to miss an opportunity.
Because what if I'm wrong?"
And to me, that sounded strategic. It seemed prudent. And to some extent, it was necessary. I needed to learn. To unlearn my corporate coding. That’s a HUGE effort, I’ll share with you. I still sound like Salesforce. Like “robot Jen”, at times.
And I needed to immerse myself in “all the other ways” to be. What is healthy work? What could I do for a living? How can my expertise be put to better use in this fastest-changing-ever world?
But somewhere down the “bridge to everywhere” I realized. If the bridge is leading to everywhere, I’m headed nowhere. And I found my resolve shaken and my energy sapped. Going everywhere takes tremendous energy.
You probably know that. And the science backs us up.
Research from Cornell and Stanford proves us right. Decision fatigue costs leaders 2-3 hours of productive capacity daily. Every "maybe" becomes a future meeting. Every "I'll think about it" is mental real estate.
Every "let me get back to you" is a mental browser tab we keep open.
And then, we just….seize up. Our CPU (cognitive processing unit - aka the brain) freezes up, and only shutting down will work.
Every "someday, maybe" option is competing for the same limited cognitive resources, and what happened next for me was another utter, complete, overwhelming exhaustion.
In other words, turns out we can’t cross the bridge to everywhere.
We romanticize "keeping options open.” To feel safer. To hedge our bets.
But optionality is a trap that keeps us standing on the wrong bridge instead of crossing the right ones.
Ambition
What happened next? Well, honestly…some panic ensued. I was scared to make a decision, so I kept it all going.
Booked clients. Booked speaking engagements. Started this Newsletter. A podcast. Joined an entrepreneur cohort. Kept a rotation with corporate contacts to “keep my network warm”. Didn’t make it clear what I did, so I could do everything.
And worked more than I’ve ever worked. And that’s saying something.
Then a client approached me for another engagement. A founder. Successful but on their own bridge to everywhere. Just as exhausted as you’d suspect. Their ask: help advise them on the “rightest” options, to build a blueprint of optimized options.
All in support of their healthy success.
And that’s really the new ambition, as I see it. Being so clear on what is truly important, we can step off the bridge to everywhere with confidence.
In the initial call of the advisory sprint, I knew I was on to something.
I let go of my product expansion. The cohort launch. The fractional shingle. The back door to full-time work. None of it served my Success Levers™.
The second I named my prime directive, the NOs came easy.
I'm watching my client experience this now. Started with 12 options, down to 8 (they don’t see it yet, but it’s really 7).
42% of their mental plates. No longer spinning.
Not because they got to "just one thing." Because they lightened their mental load. Clear enough to move in the right direction.
When we set some options aside - not forever, just definitely not now - we give our CPU back the capacity to actually build.
Not singular focus. Strategic focus.
That's the bridge from now to next.
Quick favor: Know someone stuck on the “bridge to everywhere”? Forward this to them. It might be exactly what they need today.
GO | DO
Estimated time: 10 - 15 minutes, daily (1 - 2 weeks) | Estimated energy: minimal
This week, let’s get lighter with an Optionality Awareness Audit.
 | Stop Spinning (10 minutes)Write down every idea, project, or “someday, maybe” swirling in your head.
If it’s taking mental space, it goes on the page. |
 | Mind the Ghosts (5 minutes)Ask for each: “Is this option even real?”
Cross it off. Rejoice in your immediate relief. |
 | Know Enough for NO (15 daily minutes)For what’s left, ask: “Do I know enough to make a real decision?” If not:
Your brain finally gets some boundaries. |
 | Now, Next, Later, Never (15 minutes)Now that you have actual information, score each option on:
High = Now Your NOW options are the only plates to spin. Everything else moves out of your daily mental load. |
Filtering through your success levers - what success actually means to you - really speeds clarity. I write about how in this edition.
What’s In It For All Of Us
When we stop hedging, the people around us stop hedging, too.
When we choose the bridge we’re actually crossing, others can meet us there.
We can’t eliminate uncertainty.
But we can stop letting uncertainty keep us frozen.
🌉 The future is coming. The best way to get there is to pick our bridge and move.
Get In There
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👀 This 14-minute talk by philosopher Ruth Chang is a must-watch (+2M views) Why hard choices are hard - and how to make them.
Your turn: Are you on the bridge to everywhere?When you think about your current workload, how many "active" options are on your CPU? |
Have you ever kept an option alive you knew was a NO?
What finally set you free?
Work with me
If you’re ready to get clear on your rightest options, I help leaders and founders build success that doesn’t cost everything. → Book a Fit Call