I couldn’t believe what I was reading on New Year’s eve.
The restlessness, the unhappiness…the despair.
To think that it all started back in 2022 was eye opening. The difference this time was I had been here before and learned valuable lessons that would now carry me through.
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I was flipping through my old journals and found one entry dated 1/20/2022. In it I was expressing the weight of feeling stuck and restless in my job.
I felt that I had outgrown my role but wasn’t sure what to do next. I had spent the previous year suppressing the feeling and trying to maintain optimism.
By the end of January, it was undeniable that I was unhappy. Reading those words made it clear that my season of misalignment had been brewing for over a year.
That realization hit me hard
Outgrowing My Role
Looking back, it all makes sense. I had been a Senior Trainer for 2 years. I was good at my job and was respected for it, but something about the work no longer felt like a fit. I wanted to do more than design and deliver training—I wanted to make an impact on how people grow and thrive in their careers.
I started career coaching on the side and discovered that I enjoyed it. That’s when I knew that my path needed to change.
So I made a decision. I wasn’t going to stay stuck in misalignment as long as I had when I was a customer service representative, which was several years.
I chose to go after the clarity I needed by investing over $15,000 in education, coaching, courses, books, and digital products. I explored different paths, reconnected with my passion for writing, and slowly things started to crystallize.
By the end of 2023, I had a clear direction: Talent Management and Development Consulting. I was excited. I was ready…or so I thought. I didn’t anticipate was how slow the progress would be.
The Frustration of Slow Progress
Even after all the
clarity,
investments, and
preparation
things didn’t move as fast as I wanted them to. Opportunities didn’t fall into my lap. I was still in my role as a Senior Trainer, still feeling a disconnect between what I was doing and what I wanted to do.
That’s the hardest part about change—even when you do everything right, the results don’t always come on your timeline. I find myself in a season of waiting, where every day feels like a test of my patience and commitment.
But instead of letting that frustration consume me, I decided to channel it into something productive—creative pursuits. Writing became my outlet, a way to process my thoughts and make sense of the waiting.
That’s why I started my Substack newsletter. What better topic to write about than the very thing I had overcome and was going through again: career misalignment. It was the best decision I made in 2024.
How I’m Navigating This Season
Here’s what I’ve learned about dealing with slow seasons of progress:
Small Wins Matter It’s easy to get discouraged when the big breakthrough doesn’t come right away. But I’ve learned to focus on small wins—every meaningful connection, every positive piece of feedback, every moment of growth. These small wins add up and keep me moving forward.
Here are a few of my wins:I completed a second masters in Industrial-Organizational Psychology in Sept. 2024
I was accepted into a mentorship program with the Organizational Development Network and Black in I O association.
I landed a volunteer role coaching managers on various soft skills.
Keep Investing in Yourself Just because progress feels slow doesn’t mean you should stop growing. I’m still investing in myself—through reading, learning, and creating. Every bit of growth strengthens my foundation for when the right opportunity comes.
Trust the Process This is the hardest part for me. I have to remind myself daily that progress doesn’t always look the way we want it to. Just because I can’t see immediate results doesn’t mean there isn’t anything happening. The seeds I’ve planted are taking root—I just need to keep nurturing them.
What This Means for You
If you’re feeling stuck, restless, or out of alignment, know this: you’re not alone. Progress may feel slow, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening. This season isn’t wasted—it’s a time of preparation, growth, and quiet transformation.
One day soon, you’ll look back on this time and realize it wasn’t a period of waiting—it was a period of becoming.
So, keep going. Keep investing in yourself. Keep trusting that the work you’re doing matters. Just as I’ve been here before, and made it through. You’ll make it through this too.