Insight Isn’t the Whole Story: What Sustainable Change Really Asks Of Us

I used to believe the answer to everything was more growth. More self-analysis. Another training. Another book.

Not surprising, given that self-awareness is my top strength. It’s my comfort zone. 

So when I feel overwhelmed, it’s the place I return to. It feels like I am doing something. I can even convince myself it’s more important than the things I actually need to do next. 

After all, maybe this next insight will be the missing puzzle piece. 

A while ago, I had one of those ‘Groundhog Day’ moments. Despite all my professional knowledge, I felt stuck in some familiar patterns. I became frustrated that nothing had really shifted.

A somewhat scary realisation for me was that insight would only take me so far, and that I needed to stop waiting for the perfect moment. That if I didn’t eventually act with my feet, what mattered most would never even have a chance.    

Stepping into Our Values

When I look back, the biggest shifts in my professional life haven’t come from gaining new knowledge. They have come from choosing to live more fully by the values I already held.

It meant moving from a constrained space to an open one. Not closed off emotionally. I was deeply committed, always showing up, always helping. But I was often closed to receiving, to doing the hard and sometimes uncomfortable things that aligned with the life I wanted. 

In ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), we talk about values-based living, and the reality that it’s not always easy. If we want more fulfilment and joy, we have to be willing to risk the discomfort that can come with stepping outside our comfort zone. Often, that discomfort isn’t dramatic. It shows up quietly, in the choices we’d rather avoid.

But reflecting on the times I haven’t succeeded, I remember what I took away from an ACT workshop with Robyn Walser: That pain or loss can be one of the great teachers we have. We can think back to these times and ask ourselves, what value did I discover through that pain? And what action can I take today, even if it is the smallest jump I could take, that is about breathing life into that value? 

Change As An Experiment

In a coaching training with Robert Biswas-Diener, I came across a concept I now return to often. He suggested to treat change as an experiment, listening inward and trying the next small step. Then, based on what you learn, taking the next one.

That word, experiment, is now something I come back to often. It invites curiosity. It gives permission to learn, to be human. It’s not about getting it perfect. It’s about noticing what helps, what doesn’t, and adjusting as you go.

These days, I often ask myself:
- What do I want to stand for in this moment?
- What’s one small step I can take toward that?

Not a huge leap into the unknown. Not a complete life overhaul. Just one small step. Because there’s no perfect time to start living the life you want. It’s so easy to say, “next week,” or when things are less busy. But the only way forward is through.

This mindset of gentle experimentation has become my way back to a more open life. As Robyn said, what if it’s true that no matter where you are right now, it’s OK, and there are still decisions to be made? That even with everything getting in the way, you can still move forward, carrying those things with you?

Begin With One Small Step

This idea of experimentation matters in organisations too. Sustainable change rarely comes from sweeping reforms.

More often, it emerges through small shifts in how leaders show up, share responsibility, and make decisions. 

When learning is prioritised over performance, people are more willing to try, notice, and adjust. Over time, these shifts change how energy moves through a team.

So if you’re in that waiting space where something needs to shift but you’re not sure how, maybe just start with one small experiment.

You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need one small, self-honouring step.
Something that says: this matters to me.

Try asking yourself:
– What value is calling to me right now?
– What’s one small step I could take toward it, with kindness, not pressure?

Not to fix everything.
Not to prove anything.
But to pay attention. 

And trust that the step itself will offer something worth noticing.

If insight has given you clarity but not quite the change you were hoping for,
this is the kind of work I support through individual strengths-based coaching, grounded in values-led, sustainable action.