Issue #023

The Sunday Night Test
Know if you're past your Activation Point in 60 seconds

It's 8:47 PM on a Sunday.

Your chest feels tight. Your jaw is clenched. And there's this low-grade dread settling into your bones about tomorrow being Monday.

If this has been happening for months, you're not experiencing Sunday scaries. You're past your Activation Point.

I have a 60-second test that will prove it.

But first, let me tell you how I discovered this...

It never did.
I'd tell myself stories:
"Everyone feels this way"
"It's just a busy season"
"Once this project wraps up, it'll get better"
"I'm being ungrateful—this is a great job"

But one Sunday night, my husband looked at me and said something I'll never forget:

"You know you've been doing this for almost two years, right?"

I looked up. "Doing what?"

"This. Every Sunday. The same thing. The tight shoulders, the phone scrolling, the trying-to-work-but-not-really-working thing. It's been two years."

The Sunday Night Test (60 Seconds)
Here's how it works. Tonight, or next Sunday around 7-9 PM, ask yourself these five questions:

Question 1: What am I feeling right now?

Don't analyze it. Just notice. Tightness in your chest? Heaviness? Dread? Restlessness? Numbness?

Write down the physical sensation in your body.

Question 2: How long have I been feeling this way on Sunday nights?

Weeks? Months? Years?

Be honest. Your body knows the answer even if your mind wants to minimize it.

Question 3: What story am I telling myself about why I feel this way?

• "It's just a busy season"

• "Everyone feels this way"

• "It'll get better after [X]"

• "I should be grateful"

Write down the story. Then ask: Have I been telling myself this same story for more than 3 months?

Question 4: If nothing changed, would I still be feeling this way a year from now?

Not "what do you hope will change." What does your gut tell you about what will ACTUALLY change?

Question 5: What would I do if I trusted this feeling?

Not what's practical. Not what's safe. What would you do if this Sunday night feeling was actually information trying to guide you somewhere?

The interpretation of results will be sent to your email.

The Brutal Truth About Sunday Nights

Your Sunday night feeling is never lying to you.

But you'll spend months (or years) trying to convince yourself it is.

You'll tell yourself:

• "I just need more sleep"

• "I should be more grateful"

• "Everyone has hard weeks"

• "It's not that bad"

And meanwhile, your body keeps showing up every Sunday night at 8 PM like clockwork, trying to tell you the same thing: You've outgrown this.

Why We Ignore The Signal

When you're making $350K and everyone thinks you have the dream job, it's terrifying to admit that something's wrong.

When you've spent 5 years building credibility in this role, it feels like walking away means starting over.

When your identity is wrapped up in being a Director at [Big Tech Company], leaving feels like losing yourself.

So we ignore the Sunday night test results. We rationalize. We wait.

And every week, we lose a little more leverage. A little more energy. A little more of ourselves.

What Happened When I Finally Listened

The Sunday I finally took my own test seriously, I wrote down my answers.

Question 1: Tightness in chest, low-grade dread
Question 2: Almost 2 years
Question 3: "Once this re-org settles, it'll get better" (I'd been saying this for 8 months)
Question 4: Honestly? No. Nothing fundamental was going to change.
Question 5: I'd start planning my exit.

I stared at those answers for 10 minutes.

Then I did something I'd been avoiding for months: I opened a new document and wrote "What would it look like to leave?"

I didn't resign that night. But I stopped lying to myself.

And that shift—from "I should be happy here" to "I'm ready for something different"—changed everything.

Within 3 months, I had:

• Built my exit plan

• Started having exploratory conversations

• Clarified what I actually wanted next

• Stopped the Sunday night doom scroll and started Sunday night strategizing

Within 6 months, I'd activated my next chapter.

The Sunday night feeling disappeared the moment I made the decision.

Not when I left the job. When I decided to trust what my body had been telling me for two years.

The Real Power of This Test

The Sunday Night Test isn't about quitting your job tomorrow.

It's about getting honest with yourself about what your body already knows.

Because once you're honest about where you are, you can make a plan. And once you have a plan, you have power.

🔴 Path 1: Past Your Activation Point → Act

Start planning your exit. Build your network. Clarify what's next. You don't need to quit tomorrow, but you need to stop pretending this is temporary.

Timeline: 3-12 months to activate your next chapter

What to do now:

1. Submit your biggest question about navigating this transition

2. Join the free AMA on December 10th

3. Get personalized guidance on your specific situation

⚠️ Path 2: Tough Season → Endure (With A Deadline)

Give it 90 days. If the Sunday night feeling is still there after the current stressor resolves, take the test again. Don't let "tough season" become two years of your life.

Timeline: 90 days max, then re-evaluate

What to do now:

1. Download the 90-Day Monitoring Guide

2. Attend the AMA to learn warning signs

3. Set a calendar reminder to retake this test in 90 days

✅ Path 3: Aligned → Appreciate

You're in the right place at the right time. This is rare. Notice it. Protect it. And keep taking the test quarterly so you know when things shift.

Timeline: Check in every quarter

What to do now:

1. Download the Quarterly Activation Check-In

2. Set up quarterly calendar reminders

3. Learn how to maintain alignment at the AMA

Your Turn

Here's your assignment for this week:

Take The Sunday Night Test tonight (or next Sunday).

Answer all five questions. Write down your answers. Don't rush it.

Then ask yourself: Am I willing to trust what this is telling me?

If the answer is yes, you know what to do next.

If the answer is no, ask yourself: How much longer am I willing to ignore what my body is trying to tell me?

Moving forward,

P.S. If you took the test and got a RED FLAG result, don't panic. The fact that you're now aware changes everything. Submit your question for the AMA and let's figure out your next move together.

P.P.S. Know a leader who needs to take this test? Forward this email to them. When 3 people subscribe using your link, I'll send you my complete "Sunday Night Survival Toolkit" for free.

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Referral Incentive: 3 referrals = Sunday Night Survival Toolkit

Ways I Can Help You:

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