Words poured out of her like a cup of water accidentally knocked over. Eyes pulled tight by worry. “I just don’t know what I should do.”

She wanted two things at the same time. Choosing between them was anathema. Yet here she was, stuck in a situation that was asking her to choose between two things that she held dear. “The thing” wasn’t a person, a job, or a home. The external situation was just an activator of the internal struggle. She was wrestling with questions of identity.

One choice would tell the entire world that she was “this kind of person”. The other choice declared something entirely different about what she stands for.

She wasn’t worried about outcomes nearly as much as she was worried about value. Her values. The meaning that she makes about her worth as a person, and the irreplaceable role she plays in this life.

What we want right now and what we want most. We can only choose one. The pain of the internal turmoil notwithstanding, I was watching a breakthrough in the making. I was watching a leader stand to her feet.