01/30/2026
I was in a Dutch Bros drive-thru getting aggressively tailgated by an older lady, and it was very clear I wasn’t the problem. I was ordering coffee, not backing up traffic on the 215. And yet, somehow, my brain still went there. I caught myself wondering if I was too slow, too indecisive, taking up too much space, even though common sense said she was just having a morning.
That’s real estate in disguise. You can do everything right, communicate clearly, hit timelines, and still feel that little doubt creep in when someone else is rushed or stressed. Even when it’s obvious you’re not the issue, the pressure makes you question your value anyway. The win isn’t eliminating doubt. It’s noticing it, smiling at how absurd it is, and continuing to move with confidence like the professional you already are.
