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- experiencing career anxiety
The last six months have been harsh. I had multiple episodes of career anxiety whenever people looked up to me, wanted to work with me, or when I saw my peers move way ahead of me.
Dealing with career anxiety (uncertainty about how things turn out and if you’d be as successful as you wish) is hard in any field. In my opinion, it gets so much more worse when you pick the path - when you are ambitious, obsessed with goals, want to do good; and still hardly produce any results.
Honestly, sometimes I feel like a fraud. I fear I preach something I am not qualified to talk about. Although I am conscious of the topics I choose and write only the thesis I have worked on and things I’d do (or have done) myself, sometimes the imposter syndrome and self-doubt take over.
I am aware I do multiple things.
I run two businesses—freelance and content. I meet new people online daily. I run a team. I am responsible for what my readers consume from me. I am building a home for freelancers, creators, and writers with Insiders. I run two newsletters. One premium cohort. I play cricket. Now I am making a watch.
I am not complaining. This is the life I want, where I get to choose what I do each day and be decent at it by enjoying it to the fullest. But it comes with a price of constant career anxiety and a feeling of “how will I know if I’m doing enough?”
Is there a solution? Yes and No.
No, because we are always setting higher standards. Today’s peak is tomorrow’s base.
Yes, because we usually don’t put the bricks together and worry about the wall not being built.
We worry about not having enough clients, but we don’t pitch enough
We worry about not having a larger audience, but we don’t distribute enough
We worry about getting fat, but we don’t exercise
We worry about being alone, but we don’t get social
...and the list goes on
Most of life is simple math.
Action + Surroundings = Result/Consequences
We ignore action.
We hope the surroundings favour us.
And we eventually wait for a result we like while facing the consequences.
As long as there is action (and by action I mean the right action - not some hacks or illusions that make us feel better), the career anxiety should be in check - not gone, but in check.
At least we won’t be worried about the actions we could have taken but didn’t. At least we will know there is a bigger problem than simple execution, like skill, network, experience, offers, etc.
PS: Even though I referred I/We/You in my sentences, I was always speaking for myself and writing from a position of what I have been experiencing—but not generalizing in any way.
It’s always nice to write to you. I will see you next week! <3