When Gratitude Becomes a Career Trap
How “be thankful you have a job” keeps you underpaid, overworked, and too scared to want more
The Trap
You’ve heard it a thousand times: “Be thankful you have a job.”
It sounds harmless. Responsible, even.
But here’s the truth no one says out loud—
that phrase was built to keep you quiet.
It’s how they convince smart, capable people to ignore burnout.
It’s how they normalize low pay, toxic environments, and impossible workloads.
It’s how they make you believe wanting better makes you ungrateful.
Every week, I unpack a common decision trap—something that drains your energy, confuses your mind, or costs you your peace. Think of it as a reset button for your week.
This week’s trap?
When Gratitude for a Paycheck Becomes a Career Trap.
Gratitude and self-abandonment are not the same thing.
You can appreciate what you have without settling for it.
You can be thankful for today’s paycheck and still believe tomorrow’s should be bigger.
The problem isn’t gratitude—it’s the way it’s weaponized.
You’re told that wanting more is selfish. That questioning the status quo is disloyal. That needing rest or respect makes you “difficult.”
The shift starts when you stop letting “gratitude” be used as a muzzle.
Being grateful for a paycheck doesn’t erase the truth:
It might not cover what you need to live well.
It might be coming from a workplace that depletes you.
It might be a reward for work that’s no longer aligned with who you’re becoming.
Real gratitude is expansive—it inspires growth, ambition, and better boundaries.
False gratitude is restrictive—it keeps you trapped in survival mode, afraid to risk the comfort you have for the life you want.
The question isn’t “Am I grateful?”
It’s “Is this version of my work, my pay, and my life worth protecting?”
Time for Action
If this trap hit close to home, the next step is learning how to get out of it.
In this week’s Untrapped Moves (premium post), I’m sharing:
How to know if gratitude is keeping you small or fueling your growth
The 3-part reframe to keep thankfulness without shrinking your ambition
One sentence you can use to shut down “just be thankful” guilt at work
A boundary move you can make this week that protects your peace and your paycheck
Because gratitude should never be the reason you stop growing.
Reply and tell me about a time you stayed in a job, role, or routine out of “gratitude” even though it was draining you. Your story might be exactly what someone else needs to hear to take their next step.
And if you’re ready to start making decisions from clarity—not fear—join the Get Untrapped premium community where we work through these traps together every week. Because our worth should never be measured in direct deposits.