Q. How do you know when your career has peaked? Is there even such a thing?
If you do know, how do you battle this feeling of being stuck/not growing?
👉 A: No, there isn’t such a thing. Humans are capable of infinite ingenuity and improvement, so you can keep getting better at your craft, whatever it is.
But the feeling of ‘hitting a wall’ or a plateau is very real. Ideas to overcome that feeling:
1) Understand what is stopping you from growing. You are hitting a wall in functional expertise (i.e. skill) or in motivation (i.e. will). Become aware of why your skill or your will is lacking. Talk to your manager and your colleagues, get feedback and hone in on the ‘why’.
2) Look for opportunities where you will be challenged on skill or will. a) If ‘skill’ is the issue, join courses, read books, or become an apprentice under a master. Work with someone who is far better than you in your craft. b) If ‘will’ is the issue, try to understand the true reason – is it bad comp, or unfairness in promotion, or lack of communication etc. And then talk to your manager and your team about these. Or find some other opportunity where you remove / reduce these issues.
3) Find like-minded friends who have a growth mindset and want to learn and continuously improve. A good peer group is the best medicine to career blues.
4) Optimise for learning (over money or status) in your career decisions.