I was scrolling Instagram the other night when a video stopped me cold. Watch it HERE! I honestly can't tell you if it was real or AI.
But the message? Four words. The whole thing hit me right in the heart! Gave me goosies all over.
"Pressure is a privilege."
Tennis legend Billie Jean King made that phrase famous. It's even the title of her book. And the first time I heard it, I'll be honest, part of me wanted to push back. A privilege? Pressure? The thing that keeps you up at night and makes your stomach knot before you even open your eyes?
Then I thought about the last 11 months of my life. And I realized she was right.
Eleven Months in the Fire
When DBC, Inc. laid me off after eight years, I didn't see it coming—eight years of building, publishing, mentoring authors, and pouring my whole heart into the work. Then, just like that, it was over.
The pressure didn't hit all at once.
It built. Day by day. Week by week. Month by month.
Every morning I woke up with the same assignment: find work. And not just any work. Meaningful work. Work that lined up with who I am and what I'm called to do. All while watching an economy struggle and every open door feel a little narrower.
Many mornings that pressure felt like it was sitting right on my chest. I'd rarely sleep! And wildly, my resting heart rate was at least 15-20 beats higher every single day during the last 4 of the 11 months!
The Pressure Gave Me Some Permissions
Here's what I didn't expect: every day of that pressure taught me something.
Some of the most important lessons were permission slips I didn't know I needed.
- It's okay to be upset about losing something you weren't expecting to lose.
- It's okay to feel all the things. The frustration. The fear. The tears in the car. The hope that rises and falls with every email notification.
- It's okay to ask for help!
- It's okay to reach out to your network. Those relationships you've built for years? This is exactly what they're for. People want to help. Let them.
- It's okay to be humbled…time and time again!
What the Pressure Would NOT Allow
But pressure also drew some hard lines. And I'm so grateful it did.
- It's NOT okay to let your circumstances make you doubt your talents and skills. A layoff is a business decision. It is not a verdict on your worth. The gifts you had the day before are still yours the day after.
- It's NOT okay to throw in the towel. Not when it's hard. Especially NOT when it's hard!
- It's NOT okay to stop searching and stop trying. The breakthrough you're praying for might be one more application, one more conversation, one more "yes, I'd love to connect" away.
Pressure can crush you, or it can shape you. And trust me…it took a village to keep me standing while pressure did the work, but I didn't crater!
And Then Heaven Answered
After 11 months, the door opened. And friends, I know this job was given to me by Heaven above! Literally!
I'm joining Take Action Global as the Regional Community Lead for the USA. It's perfectly aligned with everything I wanted, and MORE!
It's education. It's nonprofit. It's global. It's a mission to protect our God-given planet!
I mean...what more could a girl ask for?
And here's the part that still makes me tear up: the team wants me (and EVERYthing I bring to the table) just as much as I want to be there, learning and growing alongside them!
When you've spent months wondering if anyone sees your value, that mutual "yes" is a gift you don't take lightly.
Everything clicks! It's beautiful! I literally smile so much every single day that my cheeks hurt at night when I head to bed. I'm not even kidding!
So Why Is Pressure a Privilege?
Here's what I finally understand.
You only feel pressure when something matters.
If I didn't need the work to live, I wouldn't have felt it. If I didn't want something fulfilling badly enough, I wouldn't have felt it either. I could have settled for anything that came along, and the pressure would have disappeared. And…so would the dream. And so would using my talents and strengths for something SO much bigger than me!
The pressure proved I was still reaching. Still believing I was made for more.
The people who try for big things, who work for them, search relentlessly, and are willing to walk through the fire, understand this on a level that's hard to put into words.
We are transformed under pressure.
And there's one more gift hidden in all of it: new levels of empathy.
I will never look at someone in a job search the same way again. I know the weight of that morning alarm. I know the courage it takes to hit "apply" one more time. That pressure carved out room in my heart for people walking that road right now, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
There's a quote I came across that captures this perfectly:
"The most beautiful souls are those who walk out of the fire and come back with water for those still in it." (Author unknown)
That's the goal now. I made it out. And I'm coming back with water. You're not alone!
If You're in the Fire Right Now
Maybe you're the one waking up with that weight on your chest today. Maybe it's a job search. Maybe it's a classroom, a diagnosis, a dream that's taking way longer than you planned.
I see you. And I want you to hear this: the pressure you feel is not a sign you're failing.
It's a sign you care. It's a sign you're still in the game.
Feel it. Grow through it. Just don't cave beneath it.
Because one day you'll look back and realize the pressure was never trying to break you. It was preparing you.
Pressure is a privilege.
Keep going, friend! (Walking toward the fire, carrying buckets of water.)
