Finish lines are supposed to be clear. Cross it. Celebrate. Move on...but what if they are not endings at all?

In the Season 1 finale of Listening for the Questions, Dr. Patti Fletcher, Dan Ward, and Lynne Cuppernull take on one of the most emotionally loaded ideas we carry with us: finish lines. Athletic. Professional. Academic. Personal. Visible and invisible. Chosen and imposed.

Drawing on Lynne’s experience as an Ironman triathlete, Dan’s background as an engineer and systems thinker, and Patti’s work around transformation, leadership, and life transitions, the conversation explores finish lines as waypoints, transitions, and sometimes illusions. From triathlons and PhDs to careers, gender equity, glass ceilings, and personal reinvention, the trio asks what really happens when we focus too tightly on the end instead of the experience.

Along the way, they wrestle with questions like:

• When does a finish line become a starting line?
• Whose finish line are you running toward and who chose it?
• What do we miss when we are too focused on crossing the line?
• What can we learn from not finishing?
• And who helped you get there in the first place?

This episode is thoughtful, funny, honest, and deeply human. It is about ambition, presence, partnership, and the courage to question whether the finish lines we chase actually belong to us.

As Season 1 comes to a close, this conversation invites you to pause, reflect, and ask yourself what you are building toward, who you are building with, and what might be waiting on the other side.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Listening for the Questions is where curiosity is our compass.