The View Is Better, But You Still Have to Jump: The Problem with 'Just Do It' Coaching
There’s a certain kind of coach all over social media right now. They’re the ones who swear you can change your whole life if you just believe hard enough. The one who posts Reels about 5 AM wake-ups, green juices, ice baths, vision boards, and somehow making $30K a month by “stepping into their power.” The message is always the same: just jump. Quit the job. Start the business. Take the risk. The view is better once you leap.
But here’s the problem: jumping out of the plane isn’t the hard part. It’s everything that comes after. They’re selling you the view without asking if you even know how to pull the ripcord.
Even if you make the leap, say, leaving your job… then what? And before that, why were you standing on the ledge in the first place? What brought you to that edge? Burnout? Misalignment? A sense that something’s missing? Who’s to say you won’t land right back in another version of the same thing? Back in a different office, with the same dread, wondering why that bold move didn’t change everything. Just jumping doesn’t guarantee you’ll know what to do once you’re in the air, and it doesn’t guarantee that you’ve escaped the patterns that brought you there in the first place. It certainly doesn’t guarantee you’ll land somewhere better.
This isn’t about motivation. It’s about selling people a fantasy where the leap guarantees the landing. It’s about glossing over the real, tangled reasons people stay stuck: trauma, fear, shame, burnout, depression, executive dysfunction, neurodivergence… and replacing them with “just push through.”
It’s like giving someone a motivational poster and calling it a life raft. Sure, it looks good. But can it actually hold your weight when you hit the water?
Real change doesn’t come from hype. It comes from understanding where you are, what’s in your way, and what support you need to move forward safely. It comes from building the ground beneath you before you leap so that no matter how bumpy the landing, you know where your next step goes.
That’s the kind of work I care about. Coaching that meets you where you are. That doesn’t promise quick fixes, but offers steady support. That sees your blocks, your patterns, and your fears not as excuses, but as real obstacles worth understanding.
If you’re tired of being told to jump without any real plan for landing, head to guideandseekcoaching.com. I’m not here to sell you the view. I’m here to help you build the foundation to stand on once you get there.
