— the film where one tiny change creates two completely different outcomes? I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, especially because a recent “sliding doors moment” changed the trajectory of my week (and honestly, my business).

I recently invested in business mentoring with the brilliant Jane Pike, whose equestrian programme I’ve been part of since 2018. (If you know Jane and the work she does, you don’t need me to tell you how awesome she is and the value and insight she brings to the party.)

Our sessions happen at 6:30am UK time due to working with UK and New Zealand time zones — a commitment I’m honouring because of the positive impact it’s having on me and my business.

But this week, life happened and we had to reschedule at the last minute.

So there I was on a Monday morning, already awake and prepped and suddenly with a pocket of unexpected time. I decided to use the time wisely – I wrote a blog and used the early quiet to work on my business, and it completely shifted the tone for my entire week.

That one change of plan became the reset I didn’t know I needed. As we head into winter in the UK , dark mornings and miserable weather had resulted in a pattern of getting up later, getting stuck at my desk and feeling too tired to do much in the evenings.

But Monday changed things and had a positive impact on the rest of my week.

• I got up at 5am every day
• I did an hour of business work before the day job started
• I had more energy – for my horse Jessie, for running and I was more productive
• I completed week 6 of C25K and I’m ready for week 7!
• I stopped mindlessly watching TV in the evenings
• I was more creative
• I made real progress with my coaching and mentoring actions

If that Monday morning session had gone ahead, none of this would have happened. i would have congratulated myself for an early start, probably stayed in bed longer the next day and missed the opportunity to rediscover what works best for me.

Because here’s the truth

• I know I’m a morning person
• Evenings are my rest time
• And sometimes the universe hands you a better way forward than the one you had planned

We all fall into comfortable routines that quietly keep us stuck. Sometimes a redirection – especially an unexpected one – is exactly what we need to break the pattern. The action of letting go can often create a better result than the one you thought you wanted. 

So here’s my Sliding Doors question for you:

What could shift for you if you stopped trying to control the outcome and embraced an unexpected change to help you reset and move forward instead?

With love,
Nicky