The Career Crossroads: When Feeling "Stuck" Is Actually an Invitation to Design Your Next Chapter
You’ve achieved a solid level of success. You’ve put in the hours, earned the title, and built a reputation. But lately, when you look ahead, the path is blurry. You feel stuck, or worse, adrift. You know you should want the next promotion, the next contract, the next deal, but the thought of it doesn't spark any excitement.
It's tempting to think this feeling of stagnation is a sign of personal failure or a lack of direction. But for high-achieving professionals, this feeling of being stuck is often the exact opposite: it’s an internal alarm signalling a profound opportunity.
The conventional narrative tells us that careers should be linear - a straight climb to the top. When we hit a plateau, we’re pressured to force a step up. But what if this moment is not about pushing harder, but about pausing to ask a deeper question: Does the next step align with who I genuinely am today, my values, and what I want?
For many professionals, particularly those who have had to navigate complex identity dynamics in the workplace (like many in the LGBTQ+ community), the plateau is a signal that your current role is no longer big enough to hold your whole, authentic self. This is the moment to move from accepting a career path to designing your next chapter.
The Weight of Unmet Authenticity
The drive to succeed often comes with a hidden cost: conformity. Early in our working lives, we prioritise fitting in, learning the rules, and proving our competence. But as a successful professional, you reach a point where continuous conformity begins to stifle growth.
The feeling of being stuck is often the cumulative weight of unmet authenticity. It shows up when:
The person you are at work feels smaller or less vibrant than the person you are outside of it.
Your external achievements no longer match your internal values.
You spend more time managing politics or perception than doing work that genuinely engages you.
This isn't just about being bored; it's about a fundamental misalignment that generates a persistent, low-grade stress. It's the professional version of running a marathon in shoes that are a size too small (I imagine, my running limit is a slow 5k)
From my background as a psychotherapist, I have seen many times how a career crisis often has roots much deeper than the current job market. It's frequently linked to old stories of self-worth or safety that dictate what kind of success we believe we're allowed to claim. In coaching, we can safely and confidentially address these deeper underlying drivers so you can understand the architecture of your ambition, not just the logistics of your resume.
Coaching as a Space for Exploration, Not Prediction
When you feel stuck, the temptation is to seek a definitive answer: What job should I take next? But a coaching partnership with me doesn't provide a map; it provides the compass and the courage to draw your own.
As your thinking partner, my role is not to set an agenda, but to help you make sense of your experience so you can decide on the most aligned action. We move away from the idea of a fixed problem towards the opportunity of expansive possibility.
Here are a few examples of the possibilities and potential focus areas that clients often choose to explore when navigating a career crossroads:
1. Reclaiming Energetic Alignment
We can explore which responsibilities and environments genuinely energise you, rather than simply requiring your endurance. This involves asking: What kind of impact do you want to have that leaves you feeling more whole, not less? You are the expert on your own experience, and coaching is the space to distil that expertise into actionable insight.
2. Challenging the "Next Step" Narrative
We can work together to examine the unwritten rules and external pressures that dictate what your career “should” look like. Are you pursuing the next step because you genuinely want the work, or because you believe it’s the only acceptable sign of success? The clarity gained here allows you to choose your next move from a place of authentic desire, not assumed obligation.
3. Exploring Hidden Compromises
The plateau often highlights compromises we made long ago to feel secure. We can safely explore the underlying fears or old narratives - the "how-to-be-successful" rulebook you adopted. By shining a light on these deeply held beliefs, you gain the power to revise the rules and design a future where you no longer have to compromise your well-being or identity for success.
Ready to Design Your Next Chapter?
Feeling "stuck" is your invitation to pause, explore, and get intentional. It is the perfect moment to shift from being led by your momentum to being led by your purpose. You do not need a quick-fix checklist; you need a strategic, collaborative process to define the path that is truly yours.
Hi, I’m Justin. A coach who also brings extensive experience as a supervisor and psychotherapist. Message me to schedule a free call to find out how I can help you. No hard sell, just a conversation.
