If you’ve ever heard the old adage “you’re not a tree, you can move,” you’d know it rings true in every area of life. From moving on from a relationship that no longer serves you, to relocating to a new city, movement is essential to progress. This is especially pertinent for career as well.
As The Muse points out, career ruts are easy to spot. You can just feel when something isn’t right at your job, even if nothing is really…wrong. You just feel stuck. Getting up in the morning is a bit more challenging. You often find yourself daydreaming about other professions. It happens to the best of us.
According to a survey conducted by Oracle, researchers found that more than 75% of surveyed employees feel stuck, both personally and professionally. This is unsurprising judging by the Great Resignation that swept the workforce for nearly three years, in which workers either quit their jobs in droves or demanded a raise or promotion from their employers.
If you're undecided on which direction you want to take, but know you need a change, you're not alone. Even workplace experts can attest to feeling the same.
Waikinya Clanton, founder of social impact investment firm WSJ Consulting and the director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Mississippi office, knows a thing or two about career fulfillment...and ruts surprisingly.
"The question really isn't if I've ever been stuck professionally, it is how many times have I been or at least felt stuck professionally," she told ESSENCE. "The answer is probably too many times to count; it all depends on how you look at the notion of being "stuck". To me being stuck is more 85% mental and 15% physical. I say this because, we often times convince ourselves that our mobility upward, outward or lateral is dependent on someone else. This isn't to say, nor suggest that dilapidating feelings of paralysis don't exist, they just don't have to define us. Becoming a nonprofit executive at the age of 27, was probably one of the proudest, boldest career moves I ever made in my life. There was so much passion behind why I wanted the role but most importantly what I wanted to do with the role. It's hard and hurtful when your passion is met with crippling limitations. Sometimes your success and the glow of your gifts can be intimidating for others which will cause them to want to place you in a box-- which hurts and can be deflating. Creating feelings of being stuck because in reality you've been forced into a space that is too small to hold you comfortably."
When asked why some people experience career ruts, Clanton pointed to professional obligation as the source.
"Most people experience career ruts because oftentimes they are doing work on the bases of a need; not a desire," she said. "They also struggle and find themselves in a place of complacency and uncertainty because they have yet to find an approach to their work that would allow them to produce in their position, while also finding joy in what they do; or at least at a bare minimum, found a way to connect their passions and purpose to their work."
Fortunately, there's hope, and as cliche as it sounds, the journey starts within.
"I get out of my own head," Clanton shared. "One way I found helpful in getting unstuck is literally by creating a "joy jar". My joy jar is a jar filled with all the little things that bring me joy that I can access no matter where I am be it at work or through another facet of life. This jar is not only filled with joy, it is also filled with pleasure. From prayers to scriptures, to charges and affirmations to help me remain grounded and centered."
Clanton also shared that she prioritizes creativity as a way to invite professional fulfillment into her life. "I find joy in creating so I make space to create."
Most importantly, Clanton advises those who are stuck to give themselves permission to want more.
"I actively seek out even bigger spaces, to take up space. If one doesn't exist, I create my own."