Latest news with #CassidyKrug
Los Angeles Times
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
How to make a huge life change when it feels too daunting to make the first move
In 2012, Cassidy Krug competed in her first and last Olympics. Raised by two diving coaches, Krug was in diapers when she started dreaming of competing. At 27 years old, she had a shot at the Olympic bronze medal but landed in seventh place instead. Krug decided to retire, something she'd already been considering for three years. But how do you move forward in life when diving is the only thing you've ever known? Krug tried to replace her passion for diving with a corporate career. But after seven years in advertising and brand strategy, she felt lost and without the purpose and motivation she'd once felt for her sport. Fascinated by the endless options of what to do next, Krug wrote 'Resurface: A Guide to Navigating Life's Biggest Transitions.' The Times spoke with Krug about why we're so resistant to uncertainty and what tools we can use to get comfortable with change. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Why do you think transitions are an important part of life? Transitions are an important part of life because they're an inevitable part of life. An author named Bruce Feiler estimates that we have three to five 'lifequakes' in our lives — major shifts that change our habits, our identities, our communities and our sense of purpose. These shifts are even more frequent now that it feels like the pace of change in the world is speeding up. The more we can embrace change, rather than try to hold on to our old ways, the more set up we will be to adapt and move forward. For this book, you interviewed people going through all kinds of life transitions, from changing careers to leaving prison. What did you find to be universal truths about these transitions? There were two: that transitions take away our sense of community, and that during a transition, we often need to change our definition of success. Stanley — the man I interviewed who left prison after 20 years — told me that when he did, he lost the sense of camaraderie he felt while there. He also realized that he'd previously defined success by having a family and a stable job. When he left prison, he needed to redefine success to include the impact he'd had on other people's lives while in prison. Though my experience was not the same, I also felt a huge loss of community and the need to redefine success while leaving diving. In the book, you write that as humans, we are resistant to change and feel a need for certainty. Why are we so resistant to such an inevitable part of our lives, and how can we overcome this? We often waver between the need for stability and a desire for change and growth. Right now, as a society, our expectations for certainty are ever-increasing. Twenty years ago, there were no dating apps that could assess my compatibility with a partner and no Yelp reviews that could predict if I'd like where I chose to eat dinner. Now with generative AI, there are many more avenues that market a false sense of security, and I think those avenues give us even more anxiety when it comes to the inevitable moments when we are uncertain. One way to fight that need for certainty is to put ourselves in difficult and uncertain situations. The ability to live in uncertainty is a muscle: The more we rely on external things to give us a sense of certainty, the less capable and the more anxious we feel when we don't have those crutches around. In the book, you write that a transition never ends. What do you mean by that? I used to think of transitions as beginning, middle, end. Instead, psychologists use the phrases moving into, moving through, and moving out of to describe transitions, acknowledging that they rarely yield a clear-cut endpoint. My friend Nora, whom I write about in the book, expected that once she was in remission from cancer, she would move forward and thrive. In reality, she's in remission, but she has brain fog, fatigue and lingering health issues that will change her life moving forward. The damaging and false expectation is that transitions end. Often, in reality, we don't return to our previous state, and our transition instead ripples into our future — but that rippling change means ongoing growth and forward movement. How can we move forward after leaving something important to us behind? Rituals are a great way to honor what we're leaving behind, commemorate how it shaped us and help incorporate the lessons from it into our evolving identities. Just like holding a funeral for a lost loved one, people find creative ways to honor different parts of their lives coming to a close. One woman I interviewed who struggled with infertility threw herself a menopause party complete with tampons wrapped in ribbons and women telling their first period and menopause stories. [Author] William Bridges said that change is something that happens to us, and transition is how we choose to react to that change. I think there's a third step to that — how we interpret that transition — and rituals can help us do so in a way that moves us forward. What would you recommend someone do when they're paralyzed by the thought of an upcoming change? Firstly, I'd recommend someone reframe their anxiety by spinning those fears into opportunities. 'I'm afraid to leave this job because I don't know what will happen' can become 'If I leave, there will be so many opportunities open for me, and I'm going to have my own back.' Secondly, it's important to start with something small and concrete. The idea of finding a new passion is paralyzing, but asking yourself what you're interested in and finding a small step you can take in the direction of exploring that interest feels much more manageable. What would you say to someone who's not sure if they're ready to make a big jump? An author named Annie Duke wrote a book called 'Quit' — in it, she writes that by the time a decision appears to be 50/50, it is probably better for your upcoming happiness if you move on. We have a societal bias towards grit, and every success story seems to be of someone who had an idea and then overcame obstacles and then succeeded. Stories forget to include all the things that person quit before they chose and invested in the right path. We don't quit nearly as often as we should, so if you're thinking about quitting something, do it. Now that you've finished writing your book, you're going through a period of transition again. How do you feel about it this time around? There's grief and loss associated with all transitions. Something I have to remind myself of with each transition I face is that there will be a period where I don't know what's next, and that's normal. Things aren't supposed to last forever, and I have to remind myself to breathe into the opportunity that temporariness brings, rather than the fear. I think many of us are overwhelmed by possibilities — there are many things we could do, but we don't know which path to take. I'm in the aftermath of a project I felt so certain about, and my instinct is to wait for that certainty to hit me again before taking a step in any direction. But if I do that, I'll be waiting forever. What I need to do is ask myself is, 'What am I curious about? What is driving me?' and then invest time into exploring it — that is how I'll figure out what my passion is going to be next.
Forbes
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
How Olympic Diver Cassidy Krug Learned To Let Go—And Start Over
Former Olympic diver Cassidy Krug shares tips for going through life changes with grace in her new ... More book. From fashion icon Vera Wang's early days as a competitive figure skater to New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's past life as the rapper Mr. Cardamom, there's no shortage of stories about youthful passions giving way to bold new careers. However, riding out that in-between time can be tough for anyone craving forward momentum—especially when faced with professional setbacks like the shock of sudden unemployment, stalled advancement due to family leave or even the disappointment of a dream job that's less fulfilling than expected. In her new book Resurface: A Guide to Navigating Life's Biggest Transitions, former Olympic diver Cassidy Krug explores these topics and more through dozens of interviews that illuminate the many ways people process major life change. Using her own journey as a backdrop, Krug takes readers from the peak of her diving career at the 2012 London Olympics to the breaking point that led to her walking away from her full-time job in New York City as a brand strategist. While Krug's family and coach primed her to think about career prospects post-diving, which helped her mentally prepare to move on after the Olympics, the realities of working in corporate America proved to be a different type of heavy lift that became more pronounced as time went on. 'I had thought that the more I put into my work, the more work would give back to me in the same way that diving did,' Krug shares over Zoom. 'I was saying no to my friends. I was saying no to my family. I didn't feel like I was getting as much back as I had hoped.' This realization eventually wore down Krug despite having all the trappings of success, including a plum assignment with a dream client that involved leading a clever, resourceful team. After seven years of grinding away in pursuit of her next promotion, Krug asked for a much-needed sabbatical to allow herself to take a beat, planting the seeds for what would eventually become a good reason why career shifts that shake our sense of identity inspire introspection and soul searching: When something we've worked at for so long has defined who we are and how we spend our time, the specter of failure raises deeper questions about purpose, direction and self-worth. For publishing veteran Susan McCulloch of West Orange, New Jersey, experiencing an unceremonious layoff after more than two decades of service that included years of commuting, missed family milestones and stepping up during restructurings and the upheaval of Covid-19 felt especially disillusioning. 'After 22 years of contributing to my last company, embracing every unasked-for role, building community and serving the bottom line, I was laid off without a single kind word,' McCulloch recalls. 'That hurt.' Global retail strategist Lisa R. Bannister, founder of the Missouri Rowe Collective in New York City, came up against similarly disappointing news two years ago. In her case, Bannister found out her role at a leading fashion and lifestyle brand would be ending due to corporate restructuring after a career-defining 19-year run that included seven years abroad in Hong Kong and leadership roles spanning multiple continents. 'The thought of idle hands or a restless mind was unbearable to me,' Bannister says. 'In transition, there are so many unknowns.' Dallas-based AI marketing professional Leah Wright agrees with this sentiment. For her, career disruption came not from a layoff, but from a cross-country move prompted by her spouse's line of work. Last year, Wright resigned from a position she loved with a team she thrived with, a decision that left her feeling both disappointed and apprehensive about the changes ahead. 'It was also exciting,' Wright explains, 'because of the possibilities of what can come next.'Krug says she learned to make room "for multiple things that matter" during her transition. For Krug, transitioning enabled her to explore possibilities that have given her life new purpose. Now based in Los Angeles, she divides her time between writing, working on freelance brand strategy projects and teaching trapeze while also balancing family time with her husband and their 2-year-old daughter. Since leaving her full-time position five years ago, Krug says she has 'expanded and made room for multiple things that matter,' a move that has brought more fulfillment, joy and connection to her life. In Resurface, Krug outlines key takeaways and provides exercises for making progress while navigating the unknown. Highlights from the book include:Krug's book includes exercises at the end of each chapter to help with processing major life ... More transitions. These days, McCulloch stays grounded through her love of reading and expressing gratitude for her network. She's embracing the murk by redirecting the energy and care that she poured into her former employer to herself, allowing her the space to recharge. Her to-do list now includes 'having this time to breathe, to sleep a little later, to take a day off and not feel like I'm playing hooky, to schedule lunches without watching the clock until my next meeting, to take my son on college visits midweek.' It's a welcome change of pace that's changed her mindset and helped with connecting her dots, opening her up to considering work with nonprofits and educational organizations where she can apply the community-minded leadership skills she honed working for Big Five publishers. 'The world feels like my oyster again,' she says. For Bannister, asking for help and building community came naturally through her regular practice of reflection and faith. In addition to immediately pivoting to create her consultancy, Bannister also reached out to her alma mater to explore teaching opportunities. 'Since returning from Hong Kong, I've remained actively involved with the school—mentoring students, participating in panel discussions and organizing field trips. Teaching felt like a natural next step,' she says, viewing it as a meaningful way to give back to the next generation. 'Not only do I have the opportunity to help students shape their career paths, but their energy and curiosity continuously offer me fresh perspectives. I find myself constantly learning,' she says, citing the ongoing exchange as inspiration for expanding her consulting business. As for Wright, upskilling has been her go-to work during transitions, whether it's earning new certifications, going through media training or brushing up on Excel shortcuts. 'Be open to possibilities and just stay adaptable,' Wright advises, 'and celebrate the wins.' In Wright's case, that includes being able to support her family during the move and helping her teenage daughter get settled into her routines—an achievement that resonates with Krug's message about making space for more things that matter. 'Know that transitions are an opportunity to expand your heart past its former boundaries,' she writes. 'There's always something to grieve and something to gain.'
