Shiny Demo, Hollow Soul
Dear frAGILE,
I just did a demo where I pretended we had progress. The backend isn’t built. The design’s not approved. But I smiled and clicked through Figma like it was live. I hate how good I am at this.
Dear Shiny,
What you pulled off was impressive. And yes — emotionally exhausting. You're not faking success. You're faking stability, because the team needs hope. That’s not deception. That’s survival.
But remember: you deserve to be proud of real progress too. Build something small. Ship something honest. Even if it’s just a truth bomb in the next standup.
You’re not a fraud. You’re frAGILE. And you’re not alone.
— Love, The Cult of Clarity
Alignment Fatigue
Dear frAGILE,
I’ve been in back-to-back alignment meetings for three weeks. We’re aligning on alignment. The work isn’t moving. I don’t even know what we’re building anymore.
Dear Fatigued,
You are experiencing a sacred ritual we call “Alignment Spiral.” It’s what happens when fear of misstep outweighs trust in progress.
Break the loop. Propose a prototype. Ship a stub. Start somewhere, and let the next step reveal itself.
Alignment is important. But motion is how we find direction.
May your next meeting be short and slightly useful.
— Love, The Cult of Clarity
Backlog Guilt
Dear frAGILE,
My backlog is a landfill. I can’t look at it. Grooming just means moving trash from one pile to another. I feel like I’m failing my team.
Dear Guilty,
Backlogs are not sacred scrolls. They’re compost piles. And your job is not to polish every ticket — it’s to fertilize the few that matter.
Archive the noise. Highlight the signal. Your team needs a compass, not a hoarder.
You’re not failing. You’re learning to let go.
— Love, The Cult of Clarity
