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On the Ways We Move Between Who We Have Been and Who We Are Becoming
There’s something sacred about the moment before a story begins.
When I settled into my seat for Wicked: For Good, I did what I always do—I watched the room first. A single man choosing the middle row with quiet intention. Two women leaning shoulder-to-shoulder with the ease of decades-deep friendship. A family of four, their little girl humming the opening notes as if she had been waiting her whole short life for that moment.
There was tenderness in the air before the lights even dimmed. Something about the way we gather in the dark—how we carry our private longings with us, hoping a story might help us feel something real.
And then came the part that always happens to me: my awareness sharpened. My “spidey sense,” the one that comes alive when I witness someone caught between who they were trained to be and who they are becoming.
By the time we walked to the car, a thought was forming. One I couldn’t shake.
The Glinda Part and the Elphaba Part
Glinda is shaped for ambition, approval, and upward movement.
Elphaba carries integrity, conviction, and impact deep in her bones.
Two different trainings.
Two different nervous systems.
Two different ways of belonging in the world.
But they’re more layered than their labels.
Glinda is not just the polished one.
Elphaba is not just the principled one.
Each is complex, contradictory, and deeply human—just like us.
You can see something widening in Glinda as the story unfolds, a glimpse of who she might be without all the glitter. And yet, she gets pulled back by praise, expectation, and the familiar path she knows best.
That landed for me.
Because this is what I help people work through every day: the quiet tension between the self who knows how to succeed and the self who wants to live in a truer way.
The Part Who Stands Alone with Her Truth
Elphaba carries the part of us willing to stand alone with what we believe—even when it is inconvenient or misunderstood.
Most visionaries I work with have an Elphaba inside them.
She is often the part they muted because she disrupts the predictable arc of success.
And yet she is the one who points toward significance, meaning, and a life that feels whole.
The Real Conversations I Hear Behind the Scenes
When I walked out of the theater, I kept thinking about the quiet confessions I hear from leaders, founders, executives, and high-capacity humans:
- “My life looks good and still feels off.”
- “Something is shifting and I can’t name it.”
- “I’m tired of carrying everything alone.”
- “I want to feel like myself again.”
Not dramatic.
Not reckless.
Just human.
These are the same tensions we saw in the film—the oscillation between comfort and calling, safety and truth, praise and purpose.
This Is What It Means to Be Changed for Good
Not polished.
Not optimized.
Not upgraded into a shinier version of yourself.
Changed in the way that expands your capacity for:
- truth
- courage
- presence
- impact
- integrity
Changed in a way that brings you closer to the life you are meant to live, the work only you can do.
A Gentle Invitation for Your Week
Pay attention to where you oscillate. Do it without judgment.
Honor the part of you who learned how to thrive in the world that raised you.
Honor the part that is trying to lead you into something new.
Let these parts shape one another.
Let them soften you.
Let them bring you back to yourself—
for good.
Jen Karofsky | Thought Partner & Coach for Visionary Leaders & Significance Seekers
Jen Karofsky collaborates with leaders who are ready to disrupt the status quo and craft a life of legacy, deep connection, and purposeful impact. Through intentional coaching and bold thought partnership, Jen helps you align your work, your values, and your vision to create transformational change in your world.
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