Apparently Billy Joel Has Been Watching Me Spiral…

Of all the people I expected to offer me life advice that would stop me mid-scroll, it was not Billy Joel.

And yet - there I was. Standing in my kitchen, half-caffeinated, doing five things at once, when Vienna came on. And suddenly, Billy Joel was speaking directly to my inner overachiever like some kind of piano-playing therapist from 1977.

“Where’s the fire, what’s the hurry about?”

Excuse me, what?

Billy, I’m busy. I’ve got meetings to lead, kids to raise, boundaries to remember I meant to set, and some vague idea that I should be drinking more water. I do not have time for a soft-spoken musical intervention.

And yet. There he was. Telling me - me! - to slow down. To stop rushing through my life like someone was timing it. And he wasn’t wrong.

Because if we’re being honest, most high-achieving women I know (hi, me included) are perpetually stuck in fast-forward. We’re great at productivity. We could win Olympic medals in multitasking. We are always “just getting through this week” so we can breathe next week - except next week fills up just as fast. We say things like “after this project wraps” or “once things settle down,” fully knowing they never do.

And then Billy Joel strolls in with his piano and ruins the whole hustle fantasy in the best way.

“You’re so ahead of yourself that you forgot what you need…”

Well now it’s personal.

Because somewhere between our color-coded calendars and our drive to do more, we do forget. We forget what we enjoy. We forget what rest feels like. We forget that we’re allowed to just be people, not machines powered by caffeine, obligation, and a never-ending stream of calendar invites.

And here’s the kicker: the man who wrote Uptown Girl also wrote the emotional support ballad every high-functioning, overachieving woman apparently needs.

“Vienna waits for you.”

I mean. Come on. It waits for you. Not “hustle faster or you’ll miss it.” Not “everyone else is ahead of you.” Just… it waits. It’ll still be there when you finally exhale. No pressure. No shame. Just a quiet promise that it’s okay to pause.

It’s the opposite of everything we’re taught about success.

And maybe that’s the point.

Maybe what we need isn’t another productivity hack or time-blocking strategy. Maybe what we need is Billy Joel reminding us, in his 70s soft rock way, that rest is part of the plan. That slowness is a valid option. That joy isn’t earned through exhaustion.

So yes, you can still be the boss. You can still chase your goals. You can still organize your family’s life down to the hour and keep a color-coded spreadsheet for fun. But you can also take a nap. Or close your laptop. Or sit in silence with your coffee and not feel like you’re wasting time.

Because you’re not.

You’re living.

And if that feels hard to do - if you’ve forgotten how to be still without guilt creeping in - you’re not alone. There’s help for that. Real, grounded, no-pressure support that won’t ask you to achieve anything except showing up exactly as you are.

Vienna isn’t going anywhere.

And neither are you. So take a breath. Turn the volume up. And maybe, just maybe, let Billy Joel be the life coach you didn’t know you needed.