💭 What’s the Message in the Mess?

How a leadership book sticking out of my bag became the start of everything.

I used to think rock bottom was the hardest place to be.
But now I know — there’s something almost more painful:
The feeling of being stuck.
Not failing. Not thriving. Just… existing.

No new growth.
No new opportunities.
Just sameness that slowly wears you down.

I was in a job that felt safe — but stagnant.
I wasn’t moving forward, but I wasn’t crashing either.
It was like floating in invisible cement.

🌱 The Season That Didn’t Move — Until I Did

I didn’t plan for anything to change.
But then, something small shifted: a whisper in my spirit.
Learn leadership.

I didn’t even know what that meant. But I followed it.

The first John C. Maxwell book I bought was actually a 3-in-1 collection.
It was so thick, it couldn’t even fit properly in my bag.
It stuck out like a giant billboard.

Looking back, I think it was announcing something in me that I hadn’t yet found the words for:
"I’m ready. I’m growing. I’m not staying here."

And maybe that shift showed.
Maybe I carried myself differently.
Or maybe — just maybe — the moment I showed interest in growing, people started to lean in and help.

🌱 What Happened Next Wasn’t Magic — But It Was Momentum

Within six months:
📅 I got promoted
💰 I received a pay rise
🏢 I was poached by a public-listed firm

Was it luck?
Maybe in part.
But I believe it was something more.

It was obedience to the message in the mess.

♻️ Don’t Miss the Message (or You Might Repeat the Mess)

Here’s what I’ve learned since then:

Life is full of invitations wrapped in discomfort.
Sometimes the things that feel like stuckness, delay, or disappointment…
Are really messages.

Messages to grow.
To shift.
To see things differently.
To wake up.

But if we don’t stop and reflect — we repeat.
We carry the same habits, same mindset, same fears into the next season.
Different job. Same insecurity.
New relationship. Same resentment.

We move forward, but nothing changes — because we haven’t.

📖 Ask Yourself:

• What situation have I been circling?

• What pain or frustration keeps resurfacing?

• What invitation might be hidden in this discomfort?

• What mindset needs to shift before anything else can?

You might be waiting for God to change your circumstances.
But maybe He’s waiting for you to get the message.

💬 My Honesty Lab Invitation to You

Growth doesn’t always begin with a major life overhaul.
Sometimes, it begins with a whisper. A question. A thick book sticking out of your bag.

So… what’s your message in the mess?

What’s the one thing you’re being invited to notice, shift, or surrender?

Don’t miss it.
Because when you listen — and act — that’s where the real momentum begins.

This reflection was sparked by a coaching prompt from Valorie Burton, one of my mentors at Maxwell Leadership. She posed a question that stopped me in my tracks: “What’s the message in your mess?”. That one question helped me rethink what God might be showing me in a season that felt unmovable.

🤍 Vera
Leadership & Communication Coach
Founder of The Honesty Lab
verachin.com