36 | Feeling Stuck and Overwhelmed? How Clarity + Leadership Can Help You Move Again

Ever feel like you're doing all the things—journaling, praying, goal setting—but you're still in a fog?

👉 You’re exhausted from juggling everything, but can’t pinpoint what’s wrong

👉 You’ve asked for advice, made the spreadsheets, reworked your resume—and still feel stuck

👉 You’re craving clarity, but the more you chase it, the more it slips away

Here’s the truth: clarity doesn’t come from doing more—it comes from reconnecting to who you are.

In this episode, Shannon breaks down the hidden reasons smart, capable women feel stuck—and how to cut through the noise by aligning with your leadership style.

🔥 In This Episode:

• 4 “fog triggers” that block clarity (and how to reset)
• How each leadership style (Boss Lady, Charismatic Queen, Heart-Centered Guide, Visionary Brainiac) gets stuck—and what to do next
• 3 sneaky habits that drain your clarity without you realizing it
• A 4-question clarity audit to get honest with yourself (in under 5 minutes)

💬 Favorite Quote:
"You don’t need a better plan. You need a better connection to what actually matters." — Shannon Fox

🛠️ Try This Today:
✨ Ask yourself: If I were already clear, what’s one small action I would take today?

You don’t need the full plan. You just need your next aligned step.

💼 READY TO LEAD WITH CONFIDENCE & CALM?
🚀 Take the FREE Leadership Style Quiz to uncover your strengths and unique leadership path
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Kat and Tanner by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org/

Transcript

Shannon Fox:

You’ve been journaling, praying, reading all the things, and still feel like you're stuck in a fog.

The truth? Clarity isn’t about having more answers. It’s about asking the right questions.

And today, I’m going to help you find yours. Let’s do it.

Intro:

Hey mama, welcome to Career Growth for Working Moms.

If you're stuck in a job that doesn't fit or burning out trying to do it all, you're in the right place.

I'm Shannon, a career coach and fellow working mom. Here, you'll get simple career strategies and strength-based leadership tips to help you grow with clarity and confidence.

So grab your coffee – or reheat it for the third time – and let’s do this.

Shannon:

Hey there mama, welcome back to the show.

You’re overwhelmed, tired, doing a million things, and yet somehow it still feels like you're spinning your wheels.

The worst part?

You don't even know exactly what's wrong. You just know something is.

You crave clarity, but no matter how many lists you make or podcasts you listen to (hello 👋), or how many journals you fill, you're still not sure what you really want.

But real clarity? It’s softer than that.

It’s slower.

It almost always starts with subtraction, not addition.

➡️ You don’t find clarity by doing more. You find it by doing what matters most.

You don’t need 50 more ideas. You need to return to who you are at your core.

💭 Why Information Isn’t Clarity

When you're stuck, your brain says, just do something.

So you:

• Start googling
• Over-research
• Ask 10 people for advice
• Make spreadsheets and vision boards
• Redo your resume

…and still feel stuck.

Why?

Because clarity doesn’t come from information. It comes from connection:

• Connection to your values
• Your energy
• Your natural way of leading and living

That’s why I built the Leadership Style Quiz – not to label you, but to help you return to your design.

When you lead from your wiring:

✅ The noise quiets down

✅ The confusion lifts

✅ The fog starts to clear

😩 Overwhelm Isn’t a Capacity Problem

I hear this all the time:

"I just feel so overwhelmed. I don't know where to start."

What do we do when overwhelmed?

We either:

• Shut down
• Speed up

We freeze or hustle. Neither leads to clarity. Both lead to burnout.

➡️ Overwhelm isn’t a capacity problem. It’s a clarity problem.

You don’t need more time. You need to know what matters most.

🔍 Reframe Your Time Stress

When you say I don’t have enough time, what you really mean is:

➡️ I don’t have clear priorities.

That’s where your leadership style helps.

🌫️ The Four Fog Triggers

These are the hidden roots keeping you stuck:

1. Over-identification – You’re so wrapped up in roles (mom, manager, helper) you can’t hear what you want anymore.
2. Over-commitment – You’ve said yes to everything out of guilt, pressure, or FOMO, and now can’t see your priorities.
3. Over-processing – Thinking, rethinking, second-guessing everything, so clarity never gets a chance to speak.
4. Over-control – Planning the perfect path before taking the first step, delaying momentum.

✨ Pause & Breathe

Take a breath right now.

Inhale… exhale.

❤️ You are not behind. You are just reconnecting.

🧭 Leadership Style Clarity Blocks & Moves

Boss Lady in Action:

• Block: Too much to do, no clear place to start → paralysis
• Clarity Move: Pick one task. Do it fully. Pause. Reassess. Move to the next. Clarity builds as you move.

Charismatic Queen:

• Block: Your impact feels invisible.
• Clarity Move: Ask, “What message do I most want to share right now?” Then speak it, post it, write it, voice note it. Clarity comes when you connect outward from inward alignment.

Heart-Centered Guide:

• Block: Lost your center caring for everyone else. Emotional fog.
• Clarity Move: Pull back. Journal. Take a solo walk. Meditate. Ask, “What do I want this week?” Clarity returns when you hear your own voice.

Visionary Brainiac:

• Block: Nothing feels fully thought out. Analysis paralysis.
• Clarity Move: Set a 20-minute timer. Brainstorm. Pick one messy action. Let momentum create the next step. Clarity isn’t the plan. It’s in the doing.

✏️ Quick Clarity Audit

Grab your notes app or journal and answer:

1. What’s energizing me lately?
2. What’s straining me right now?
3. What am I doing just because I “should”?
4. What’s the one thing I keep thinking about but haven’t acted on?

➡️ Pause here. Reflect.

Clarity isn’t about big leaps. It’s about noticing the nudge you’ve been ignoring.

🚫 Three Sneaky Habits That Drain Clarity

1. Crowdsourcing your purpose.
2. Asking too many people for advice. Overwhelmed by input. More confused. Clarity comes from connection, not consensus.
3. Chronic comparison.
4. Watching someone else’s highlight reel and wondering why your life feels flat. Their clarity isn’t your standard.
5. Micromanaging the outcome.
6. Trying to guarantee results before you commit. Staying stuck waiting for certainty.
7. 👉 Confidence comes after commitment, not before.

🌟 Real-Life Client Stories

Jenna (Boss Lady): Crushing productivity but hating her job. Thought she needed better time management. What she needed was clarity on what fueled her. We identified her values, reset her calendar, and everything shifted.

Tina (Heart-Centered Guide): Overwhelmed by small asks. Drowning in tiny favors and team requests. She didn’t need better time skills. She needed boundaries rooted in clarity.

➡️ Clarity gives you a filter. Without it, everything feels urgent.

🗝️ Clarity Reset Challenge This Week

1. Take the Leadership Style Quiz if you haven’t yet:
2. ➡️ theshannonfox.com/leadership-style
3. Do your alignment audit.
4. Sit with those four clarity questions.
5. Ask yourself:
6. If I were already clear, what’s one small action I would take today?

You don’t need to see the whole path. You just need the next aligned step.

❤️ You already have the clarity. It’s just buried under too much noise.

Let’s peel back the layers one step at a time.

✨ I’ll see you back here soon.

Outro:

Hey, Working Mama, I hope you enjoyed today’s episode.

If so, would you take 30 seconds to share it with a friend who's stuck in her career, but doesn't want to sacrifice her family to grow?

Also, please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts. It seriously lights me up to know the show is helping you navigate burnout, find clarity and lead with confidence.

All right, time to shut down my laptop and pretend I'm not hiding from folding that laundry.

I’ll meet you back here soon for another episode of Career Growth for Working Moms.

You’ve got this.