Trust is not a static thing… We can say we have trust (n.) in something or someone. But its real value comes in the practice. We put our trust on the hook when we trust (v.) that capability or person and entrust (v.) it/them with the work at hand.

I chose trust as my theme for 2025. Words can’t really describe just how much that was tested and forged.

I don’t need to rehash the year here. I would be speaking obliquely, and frankly, I don’t really care to revisit all the events in my mind. Suffice it to say, there was far more stress and uncertainty, actions and decisions that I (nor anyone else) had anticipated. And then still there was the main event of 2025, disrupted indirectly by the unexpected changes we’d dealt with.

But I do want to take a few moments to reflect on how the year to trust went. When I wrote about my theme at the start of the year, I called out 4 specific facets. So let’s take a quick look at each.

Trust the training.

I want to trust that the experience I have, the work I have done and will do, is creating the conditions for success with sanity.

By mid-year, we were behind, across the board. It took me a little time to understand why, and I was certainly frustrated. But I recall telling someone, when they asked, that I felt surprisingly calm. I felt like I should be more anxious than I was. Yet I also knew we’d get the important things done. Maybe it wasn’t going the way I envisioned, but so what? I’d had plenty of running races* and work projects that didn’t go to plan, but they still got done.

The sanity part… if I’m honest, I’d give myself a C grade. I passed, but I think I could’ve done better. There were plenty of 50-60 hour weeks, but I didn’t drift into the 80-100 hour weeks I did before. I was feeling tired but not frantic.

Trust my intuition.

Sometime last year, I read about how “intuition” or “gut” is embodied knowledge. It’s something that seeps deep into your bones.

I listened when something felt off and asked the key questions to validate and redirect. I listened when something lit a spark and figured out how to build it into a flame. I remain the analytical scientist, but I also saw how analytics and intuition work together to get me where I need (or want) to be faster.

Trust my people.

I have mixed feelings about this part. In some cases, I tried and found myself caught in negative repercussions of others’ decisions or uncertainty or lack of confidence. In some cases, I felt like I failed people because they struggled at times, overwhelmed because they didn’t tap into the resources available, and I didn’t catch it and redirect earlier. And in other cases, people showed up in ways I wouldn’t have imagined because I let them.

Trust my wisdom.

I know I have so much to learn in life. But I’ve been on this planet for more than 4 decades now, and I can honor what I’ve learned along the way.

This is a facet I feel I can truly celebrate. I did not forget all the hard-won lessons.

Just one quick example. As the work I was directly responsible for was about to ramp up, I thought about the last time I went through a season like this—what I’d done to wear myself down, how I might do things differently, what practices have brought filled me up even when things are challenging. I thought of advice from Brad Stulberg of The Growth Equation about defining minimal requirements. I created a list of non-negotiables: the daily, weekly, and monthly actions that would keep me feeling OK and performing well. I wasn’t perfect—another bit of wisdom I’ve gained; at the outset, my spouse told me 80% is still a passing grade, a valuable nudge. But I kept most of these commitments most of the time, and I am certain that’s why I was not utterly depleted when January arrived—and why I’m not demoralized by the last minute change by our funder, which means I’m still in this intensive work period for a few more months.