There’s something sacred about talking with another Molly.

Maybe it’s the shared name.
Maybe it’s the Midwest roots.
Maybe it’s the way our stories braid together without us even trying.

But this conversation with Molly Schreiber felt less like an interview and more like sitting across from a friend at a coffee shop saying, “Tell me how you got here.”

And what unfolded wasn’t a straight line.

It never is.

She started where many of us start — loving school, wanting to teach, believing education would be her whole world.

And then life cracked open.

A young marriage.
Three babies in two years.
A yoga class at the YMCA just to breathe for a minute.

And then — tragedy.

Widowed at 30. Three kids under three.

I can’t even type that without pausing.

Because what do you do when life splits into a before and an after?

For Molly, the answer was small and simple:

She went back to the mat.

Back to breath.

Back to the practice that reminded her what “steady” felt like.

Not because it fixed everything.

But because it helped her take the next step.

And then the next.

And then — eventually — build something bigger than herself.

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Turning pain into purpose

Today, through Challenge to Change and Mindful Minutes, Molly’s work reaches hundreds of schools across Iowa.

Kids learning how to breathe through big emotions.

Teachers learning how to regulate themselves before regulating a classroom.

Leaders learning that mindfulness isn’t “woo” — it’s survival.

Because here’s the truth she shared that stopped me in my tracks:

We have 50,000–70,000 thoughts per day.

Most are habitual.
Most skew negative.
Each carries emotion.

No wonder we’re exhausted.

No wonder our kids are overwhelmed.

No wonder we snap, scroll, react, repeat.

We never learned how to pause.

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The Pause

She calls it The Pause.
Capital T. Capital P. Proper Noun.

A deliberate moment to breathe.
To come back to yourself.
To remember your inner compass.

Not an hour-long retreat.
Not a perfect meditation practice.

Just… a pause.

Before you answer the email.
Before you react to your kid.
Before you spiral into “not enough.”

What if that’s the leadership skill we actually need most?

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What I keep thinking about

After our conversation, I kept picturing her younger self — three babies, grief sitting heavy on her chest, walking into that YMCA.

She didn’t know it at the time, but that tiny decision became the seed for an entire movement.

It’s wild how often that’s how purpose shows up.

Not in a five-year plan.

But in a small yes.

A quiet room.

A breath.

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If you’re in a season where things feel heavy or unclear, maybe your next step isn’t hustle.

Maybe it’s The Pause.

Maybe it’s listening for your own inner compass.

Maybe it’s trusting that even this — especially this — will shape who you’re becoming.

Because sometimes the most powerful leadership tool isn’t doing more.

It’s coming home to yourself first.

Head over to Challenge to Change or Mindful Minutes to learn more about what Molly and her team are doing, and make sure to listen to our entire conversation in Episode 239 “The Power of The Pause” now streaming at The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.