Man, sometimes you just hit a wall in your career, don’t you? Like you’re treading water, pushing and pushing but not really getting anywhere. I’ve been there, more times than I care to admit. And a few years back, I swear, I was deep in it. It wasn’t about getting fired or anything dramatic like that. It was more insidious. It was this creeping feeling of being stuck, of having all these ideas swirling in my head but not actually making them real. It was like I was living in a fog, dreaming big but my feet weren’t touching the ground.
I remember this one period, it was just after a big project wrapped up, and instead of diving into the next thing, I just… paused. For too long. I was doing bits and pieces, sure, but there was no drive, no clear path. Every day felt the same. I’d sit at my desk, stare at my screen, and just feel this huge disconnect between what I wanted to achieve and what I was actually doing. My energy was low, my motivation was shot. I was basically waiting for some magic wand to wave and suddenly make things clear, make opportunities appear. And you know what? That magic wand never showed up. It never does.
I distinctly remember one morning, I was staring at a blank document, trying to outline a new idea, and just absolutely nothing was coming. It felt like my brain was filled with cotton. And I thought, “This is it. This can’t be it.” I was tired of feeling like I was just drifting. That day, I made a decision. I told myself, “Alright, enough waiting around. You gotta make your own current.”
My “practice” really kicked off there. The first thing I did? I stopped just thinking about it and started writing it down. Not some vague ideas, but concrete stuff. What did I actually want? What kind of work fired me up? What skills did I have, and what skills did I desperately need? I grabbed a big old notebook, the kind you’d draw in, not write neatly, and I just started scribbling. I mapped out every single tiny goal, every little step. It wasn’t about being perfect; it was about getting it out of my head and onto paper, making it real.
Then, the next big thing I forced myself to do was get out there and talk to people. Oh, man, I hated that at first. I’m usually more of a stay-at-home, head-down kind of person. But I knew I couldn’t keep doing everything in a vacuum. So, I started reaching out. Old colleagues, folks I’d met at past events, even just friends of friends. I wasn’t asking for jobs, mind you. I was asking for advice, for insights, for their stories. I wanted to understand how they navigated their careers, what challenges they faced, and how they pushed through. It was amazing what I learned just by listening. People love to share their experiences if you genuinely listen.
I remember one specific coffee chat with an old mentor. I was telling him about my fuzzy ideas, my general feeling of being lost. He didn’t give me answers; instead, he pushed me to ask myself tougher questions. He told me, “You’ve got a good heart, but sometimes you let your heart lead you right into a daydream. You need to pull that dream down to earth.” That hit me hard. It was like he saw right through my indecisiveness.
So, my next step in this “practice” was to stop just dreaming and start doing the little things, every single day. I mean, tiny, tangible steps. If I needed to learn a new software skill, I wouldn’t just think “I should learn that.” I’d block out 30 minutes, every single day, no excuses, and just open a tutorial. Even if I only understood a fraction of it, I did it. If I needed to connect with someone, I’d send that email, even if my fingers felt glued together. It was about building momentum, one small action at a time. That’s how you chip away at that big, scary mountain.
Another crucial part of my journey was learning to trust my gut, but also to question it. Sometimes my gut would tell me to play it safe, to stick with what’s comfortable. And in the past, I often listened to that. But I started pushing back. “Is this really the right path, or am I just scared?” I’d ask myself. I learned that true intuition often feels different from fear. It’s a quiet hum, not a loud alarm. And when that quiet hum pointed me towards something new or uncomfortable, I started to lean into it. I took a few calculated risks, switched directions on a project I’d invested a lot of time in, just because my gut kept nudging me that way. And those risks paid off.
I also realized the power of being adaptable and not getting too fixed on one outcome. Things rarely go exactly as planned. I had this perfect vision for one of my projects, but then a wrench got thrown in. Old me would have gotten frustrated, maybe even given up. But this new “practicing” me just thought, “Okay, how do we pivot? What’s the new opportunity here?” I learned that sometimes, the best path forward isn’t the one you originally planned, but the one you discover along the way.
So, looking back at all that fumbling and finding my way, these are the big takeaways I hammered into my own head and saw play out for myself and others:
- Get Real with Your Goals: Don’t just wish; write it down, break it down, make it tangible.
- Connect, Don’t Isolate: Talk to people, listen to their stories, share your own. You’re not an island.
- Daily Action, No Matter How Small: Momentum builds from tiny steps. Do something productive, every single day.
- Listen to Your Gut, But Challenge Your Fear: Discern true intuition from just being scared.
- Embrace the Pivot: Things change. Be flexible, adapt, and look for new angles when the old ones don’t work.
Honestly, it’s not some secret sauce. It’s just showing up, doing the work, and being honest with yourself. It was a messy process, full of doubts and false starts, but man, did it make a difference. It’s about being proactive and not just waiting for the world to bring things to your doorstep.
