One of my coaching clients has gotten really good at playing it safe.

Project after project, he volunteers for the same, mostly operational tasks that are well within his wheelhouse. He’s reliable and valued for being so, but when his manager asked if he wanted to lead a new cross-functional strategic team, he immediately deflected: "I think Kiran would be better for that."

He admitted to me later that he’d never really paused to imagine anything beyond his usual scope of work. A strategic role would surely be different from what he was used to. There would be new skills to learn and new problems to solve.

So, instead of considering what he might gain, he let questions pile up unanswered: Would I even be good at this? Where would I start? Faced with so many maybes, he wrote the whole thing off as “too advanced” and continued with the work he knew.

This is what I call “Level One” thinking in your professional development: Nothing compels you to leave your comfort zone.

At Level One, you feel mundanely competent, in control, even complacent. People count on you to get your work done without much fuss, but everything you’re doing, you’ve done before. You don’t necessarily challenge yourself. Perhaps you wonder why others around you are advancing while you're not.

It’s tempting to blame your stalled momentum on external factors, leadership, office politics, etc., but it’s really the voice in your head that takes all this in and tells you that you’re not ready: What if I try, and I’m not enough? It might feel like you’re being prudent or protecting yourself, but you’re really just letting self-doubt dictate your career path.

What’s blocking you from getting to the next level?

Rationalizations people use that restrict their development and prevent them from taking risks.

“The company will never treat me fairly, so I’ll only put in minimal effort.”

In an increasingly dysfunctional workplace culture, that sentiment is spreading. Gallup recently reported that only 21% of employees are engaged in their jobs. Workers across ranks and generations voice a similar complaint: Why bother?

When, whatever the circumstances, exceptional work isn’t rewarded, when recognition systems are flawed or biased against you, what’s the point in trying to succeed on merit? You succumb to apathy. But the cost is ultimately borne by you, because you’re the one staying stuck pissed off, not trying, in a place you don’t want to be.
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“I’m paralyzed by options.”

You're bombarded with outside opinions and contradictory advice from social media and work platforms, making every choice feel binary: optimal or wasteful, right or wrong. The endless stream of information trains you to act like there's a perfect solution if you just consume enough content. This creates decision paralysis; you research endlessly but take little viable action.

The result is like driving with two feet. One’s on the gas ("Maybe I should...") and one’s on the brake ("...but what if that's wrong?"). You entertain a goal, then remember a cautionary example and hesitate. Eventually, you favor familiarity and predictability to stop the back-and-forth, forgetting how satisfying meaningful progress can be.
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“I can’t do that.”

Tell this to yourself enough times, and you believe it as fact. My client talked himself into being the operations-only guy, making the strategy opportunity — a promotion, at his company — appear to be a mismatch.

Self-doubt, untested, is just a theory. Until you’ve called your baseline assumptions into question, you’re only guessing about the confines of your talent.
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“I’m just protecting my peace.”

We all sense that the world is heavy. Work can be depleting. It’s helpful to conserve your energy. But there’s a thin line between self-care and excuses. If you take your boundaries too seriously, they will barricade you against everything, including chances to get stronger.

I write this with love: You may have set the bar lower than your potential deserves, but that’s a habit you can change. If you haven’t pushed yourself past Level One, you can’t possibly know what you’re capable of.

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Four steps to launch yourself to Level Two

When you get itchy in your comfort zone, you’re ready for Level Two. Think of it as a notch up, the next step you’ve been afraid to try, not a complete self-reinvention. Level Two is asking for an intimidating assignment, initiating the conversation you’ve been rehearsing in your head, or sharing the idea you’ve been sitting with.

Here’s how I’d begin:

1. Pinpoint what you’re avoiding. Where do you falter, hold back, or self-edit? What would you attempt if you trusted yourself to handle whatever came next? Name the exact arena, not “I need to be more strategic,” but “I always hand off the upcoming planning workshop.”

2. Turn it into an ambitious goal. Don’t wait to be noticed or invited to grow. Make the thing you’re avoiding a concrete target with a hopeful outcome and a timeline. “I will pitch and facilitate the next planning workshop, draft the agenda by Friday, and secure sign-off by month-end.”

3. Try one new thing. Take a risk. This is the Level Two idea, conversation, or assignment. It doesn’t have to be massive, but enough of a leap of faith to open new doors for you.

4. Remember your resilience. Think back on the hard experiences you’ve overcome and ways you’ve adapted that brought you to now. You’re not starting from scratch. Conjure your earned, however buried, grit.
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What’s the worst that can happen if you try?

You don’t need to leap to Level Five. Just take the next step. If it flops, Level One will still be there, but you won’t have to wonder what could have happened if you had shown up and done your best.

Here's what I've learned from watching people level up: when one finally tests their limits, it gives permission for others to do the same. When you win, you uplift your whole team. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and that starts with you choosing to wake up. So, give yourself a push.

I’m rooting for you.

Sending love and light,

Ginny