Sometimes It Takes a Power Cut to Wake Us Up
Who Is Really in Charge? A Lesson in Pattern Disruption
What if the very patterns that helped you succeed are now limiting your freedom to choose?
Last night, at 2 a.m., I was still working.
(Yes, I know…)
Outside, a storm was raging.
Suddenly, everything went dark.
No electricity.
I lit a candle. And something rather lovely happened.
I stopped working.
The candlelight, the silence, the unexpected interruption… my highly activated, get-things-done nervous system finally began to settle.
From doing to simply being.
Apparently, the universe had decided I needed to rest.
And it took a power cut to convince me!
The Morning After: A Pattern Disrupted
I woke up at 10 a.m. The lights were back!
Downstairs, my husband looked rather pleased with himself.
"Did you hear what happened this morning?"
"No! I was in deep sleep. Haha!"
He explained how he had discovered a faulty circuit breaker and managed to restore most of the electricity.
Except for our breakfast corner.
No toaster. No kettle. No coffee machine in its usual place.
And most importantly, NO AIR FRYER!
Disaster.
Well, perhaps not quite.
But strangely, I felt lost.
My familiar morning routine was disrupted.
And I noticed something fascinating.
I wasn't even checking what I actually wanted or needed that morning.
Was I hungry? Tired? Did I really want coffee?
Or was I simply following a familiar pattern?
Meet My Inner Operations Manager
I have a very hardworking part of myself.
I call her my Operations Manager.
Perhaps you know her too.
Competent. Responsible. Productive. Always learning. Always improving.
She constantly reminds me:
There's more work to do.
You could be learning something.
You need to stay productive.
Your value comes from what you accomplish.
A wonderful employee!
Except that somewhere along the way, she seems to have promoted herself to CEO.
Without consulting anyone.
And she doesn't particularly enjoy being asked to step aside.
Even when my body asks for rest, she insists on getting things done.
Even when nothing urgent needs doing, she finds something.
She has helped me accomplish a great deal.
But I wonder: When did a strength become something that limits my freedom?
Who Is Really Leading Us?
We spend so much time leading teams, organisations, and change.
But how often do we notice the patterns that lead us?
The need to have the answers.
The urge to stay in control.
The habit of taking responsibility for everything.
The discomfort of not being productive.
These patterns may have contributed enormously to our success.
Yet, when they become automatic, they can quietly narrow our choices.
We respond as we always have.
Not necessarily as we would consciously choose.
Until something disrupts us.
A difficult conversation. Unexpected feedback. A career transition.
Or a broken air fryer.
Life has quite a sense of humour!
What If We Didn't Have to Wait for Disruption?
This is one of the things I love about executive coaching.
Creating a space where leaders can step outside familiar patterns and become curious about them.
Not to judge or get rid of those patterns.
But to ask:
What has this pattern helped me achieve?
What might it be costing me now?
What else is possible?
Sometimes that exploration is gentle. Sometimes it involves a thoughtful challenge.
And sometimes it reveals something we hadn't even realised was there.
The goal isn't to fire our inner Operations Manager.
She still has important work to do!
But perhaps she could stop running the entire organisation.
Perhaps other parts of ourselves deserve a voice too.
Our creativity. Our emotions. Our values. Our capacity to rest, connect, and simply be.
That's where I believe genuine growth and resilience begin.
Not just in becoming better at what we already do.
But in expanding our capacity to choose differently.
An Unexpected Gift
This morning also brought me something else.
Gratitude.
For a warm home. Reliable electricity. A cup of coffee. Health. Breathing.
So many ordinary things I had taken for granted.
I realised how easily I forget to notice what is already here.
And I wondered:
Do we always need disruption to remember what matters?
Perhaps not.
Perhaps we can become more intentional about noticing before life forces us to.
I still don't have my air fryer back.
But I've recovered a little more awareness, gratitude, and freedom.
And perhaps that's enough for today.
I'm curious: What familiar pattern has helped you succeed, but may now be limiting you?
Sometimes we don't need another solution. We need a space to see things differently.
Executive coaching offers that space — to pause, recognise the patterns shaping how we lead, and discover new possibilities.