The Silent Price of Ignoring Your Truth

Sometimes life gives us painful reminders of what happens when we ignore our inner truth.

I’ve lived that twice. Once as a teenager chasing sports glory, and again decades later in my tech career. Both times, the cost of being out of alignment was heavier than I ever imagined.

Basketball Was My Dream

Growing up, basketball was my dream. I spent summers shooting 500–1,000 shots a day at the church gym. Football, on the other hand, never lit me up. I hated the practices, dreaded the contact, and always worried I’d get hurt and miss basketball season. But I was fast, I could score, and people praised me for it.

By eighth grade, every year I told myself I’d quit football. And every year, I got pulled back in by a mix of praise and pressure. One summer, I skipped camp and the coach showed up at my house to beg me to play. Deep down, I didn’t want to. But I caved, because approval mattered more than truth.

That decision came with a cost. My junior year, I broke my leg badly—tibia, fibula, ankle dislocated. My foot was nearly turned around backwards. The injury ended any chance of chasing basketball seriously, and it left me with lasting pain I still feel every day.

I can’t say for certain that I would have played basketball in college. But I know this: ignoring my truth left me broken, inside and out.

The Tech Career Echo

Fast forward twenty years. I was in my mid-30s, working in tech, “successful” by every outside measure. But inside? Drained. Empty. Misaligned. Most of me wanted to leave, to follow a deeper call. But just like in high school, fear and approval kept me stuck. The paycheck. The stability. The question: What would people think?

And yet, I knew where that road led. I had lived the cost of being out of alignment. The soul-crushing. The energy drain. The quiet despair.

Six months ago, I finally chose differently. I walked away from the job and toward what my heart and soul already knew. It felt like closing a loop, choosing alignment instead of approval.

An Invitation for You

Here’s my invitation to you:
Where in your life are you out of alignment? What is it costing you? And what would it look like to finally choose what your soul already knows?

From my own journey, I can tell you: living in alignment is energizing and enlivening. Living out of alignment is soul-sucking.

If you’re a burned-out worker who feels the pull toward something deeper, I’m building a community to support you. Together, we’ll explore how to align with your gifts, follow your soul’s call, and create the work you love.

If you’d like to be kept in the loop, drop your info here.