Seriously, now what?

A few years ago I was in Paris when I turned to Ira and said: “I think I need to go.”

“Go where?” He asked. “Go back home?”

“No.” I said. “I need to leave my job.”

At the time, I was living in New York City, the place I had always wanted to be, working as the evening news anchor in the city I loved most of all. After thirty years in the industry, I landed my dream role, the one I had spent my entire career working toward.

I had everything I ever wanted and there I was, standing in Paris saying I was ready to walk away from it all to pursue advocating for women in midlife and menopause.

It was a terrifying decision to make. While I prepared myself mentally for the transition, I didn’t have a clear answer to what my life was going to look like next. I doubted myself constantly. I kept asking myself what now?, feeling pressured to already have it all figured out.

What I didn’t realize then was that the in-between space I found myself in is actually where the clarity begins.

It wasn’t until I started letting go of the expectations I had placed on myself, slowly distancing myself from the identity I had clung to as a news anchor, that I was able to sit and pay attention to my thoughts. It was from this place of silence and stillness that I was able to tune out the noise and tune into my intuition to get clarity on how to move forward.

Almost three years later, I wish I could go back and tell that version of myself that it would all work out and she’d get to do everything she dreamed of. That stepping away would lead me to write a book that would become a New York Times bestseller, to create The (M) Factor, which has now been screened in 42 countries, and to continue this work with Before the Pause. But knowing what I know now, I want to provide comfort for other women who are asking the question I asked myself that day in Paris:

Now what?

Because the truth is, this is a question we all ask at some point in our lives. Not because we’ve failed or done something wrong, but because what once worked no longer fits. And that’s okay.

That’s why I asked my good friend and leading business coach Marie Forleo to join me on The Tamsen Show. Marie has spent decades helping millions of women build businesses and lives without burning themselves out, and one thing she said really stayed with me: slowing down doesn’t make you vulnerable. It actually makes you more effective and more powerful.

When we slow down enough to listen, clarity comes from simplifying, trusting ourselves again, and running our race instead of chasing someone else’s timeline.

If you’re in a transition, this conversation will give you language for what you’re feeling and permission to move forward without panic.

In our conversation, we explore:

• Why clarity rarely comes from pushing harder
• How fear and comparison quietly drive so many decisions
• What to do when you don’t have a five-year plan (and why that’s okay)
• How to quiet the noise so you can hear your own intuition again
• Why slowing down is often the fastest way forward

By the end of this conversation, you’ll know how to move forward intentionally so that the next chapter supports your life instead of consuming it.

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If you are having doubts about your career or want to make a change in your life, this episode is for you.

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