Dear Empowered Reader,
Ninety-nine seems to be such an unglamorous number.
It is not a fresh start or a grand finale. It is the middle, the place where the novelty has worn off, the confetti is still in the box, and the work is simply to keep showing up.
This edition (the 99th newsletter) is not about looking back at everything we have done together or forward to a big milestone. It is about the often-overlooked art of staying with something long enough for it to matter.
Beginnings come with adrenaline: new roles, new projects, new seasons, new notebooks. Endings come with reflection and ritual. Middles are different. They ask for a kind of stamina that rarely gets celebrated.
Think about the relationship you are fostering, the job you are still in or working towards, the habit you are still practicing, healing you are still working through. The middle doesn't seem important. And yet the middle is where character, trust, and new roots are actually formed.
A while ago, someone shared a simple rule: “I don’t have to promise I’ll do this forever; I just decide not to quit today.” That line has lived rent‑free in my mind. There were weeks when life got complicated, when the newsletter, typically something I really look forward to writing, felt like one more thing, when skipping “just this once” seemed reasonable. On those weeks, the rule became: send something small, honest, and imperfect rather than nothing at all. “Not quitting today” was enough.
There was a stretch of trail near my home in Duluth that felt endless. The first five minutes are lovely, the last five offer a beautiful view, but the middle...rocks and grass. No big landmarks, no dramatic turns.
Most growth feels like that tall grass. The middle is where you wonder if anything is changing, if your efforts are doing anything at all. Often, the evidence only shows up later: a slightly easier conversation, a tiny bit more capacity to rest, a new ability to say no without apologizing. The middle is where those muscles are built.
Last year, my husband and I hiked the Continental Divide in Iceland (photo below). The path was stark and foggy, no sweeping vistas until the very end. Standing there in the endless middle, with mist on all sides, I realized that's exactly how the trail (and life) works: you keep walking because the middle is the only place the real distance gets covered.
Another thought I remind myself of is that perfection culture loves a polished before‑and‑after story. The middle resists that. It is messy, full of unresolved questions and experiments that might not work. Consider this your permission slip to be unapologetically “in process.” You are allowed to be learning on the job, grieving and building at the same time, proud of how far you have come and still unsure about what’s next. Being unfinished is not a failure; it is a sign that you are alive and still becoming.
If being “in the middle” feels overwhelming, shrink the frame. Instead of asking, “How will I keep this up for another year?” ask, “What is one small continuity I want to keep for one more week?”
Maybe it is a short walk, a Sunday planning ritual, a standing check‑in with a friend, or five minutes of breathing before you open your laptop. The point is not to do everything; it is to protect one thread that reminds you who you are and what you care about.
Issue 99 is not a victory lap. It is a hand on your shoulder saying: it is okay to be in the thick of things. You do not have to have a tidy story or a clear five‑year plan to be worthy of care, support, or celebration. Wherever you find yourself, halfway through a project, a relationship, a transition, a healing process, may you remember that the middle is not a mistake. It is where the real work, and often the real magic, happens
Affirmation
I honor the middle of my story; even without a clear ending, every small step I take right now is real, valid, and enough
Reflection Where in your life do you feel most “in the middle” right now, not starting, not finishing, just in it? What is one situation where you can borrow the rule “I don’t have to do this forever; I just won’t quit today”? What is one small continuity, a habit, relationship, or practice, you want to protect for the next week as a way of honoring where you are?
Take care, dear reader,
Julie Founder, Empower Possible
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