When your career feels like it’s going nowhere, it’s easy to feel isolated and disconnected from your work, colleagues, and even your own ambitions.

You may find yourself at a point in your career where the paths ahead seem scarce. Perhaps you've reached the ceiling in your current role, your industry is shrinking, or you lack the qualifications for new opportunities. The feeling of being boxed in, with no clear way to move forward, can be disheartening.

You’ve been working hard, diligently pursuing your career goals, but now you find yourself at a standstill. There’s no clear path forward, and opportunities seem to be slipping through your fingers. This is the uncertainty and frustration that comes with stalled career progress.

Let’s picture a train journey where the train has come to a stop in the middle of nowhere. There’s no option to get off, and no way to find another route. You’re isolated, uncertain of when—or if—the train will start moving again, and the confinement feels overwhelming.

You're on a long train journey through a flat, unchanging landscape. The scenery outside the window never changes. Mile after mile, it's the same view, and the excitement of the journey quickly fades. You're left feeling bored and restless, longing for something new and different to break the monotony.

We've all heard the saying, "Life is a journey, not a destination." The same can be said about our careers. But what happens when that journey feels more like a train that's come to an unexpected halt on the tracks?

While aiming for straight Cs sounds like it might be a low bar if you are thinking about earning straight Cs on your school report card, the idea of aiming for straight Cs in this context is about achieving the six Cs of career ease and there is nothing mediocre about this goal.

It’s Monday and you have no idea how you're going to generate the energy to make it to Friday. The week ahead looks like a crazy reality show obstacle course where you are just one slick handhold away from falling off and into the mud pit.

Imposter syndrome may be hard to spot sometimes because it appears that confidence is present. However, the confidence in imposter syndrome isn’t real. It’s a decoy so that others don’t see the deep distress underneath.

Just like career frenemies “worry” and “calm”, “overwhelm” and “clarity” would never be described as besties. They just have a whole different outlook and approach.

Career worry and career calm are not friendly neighbors. In fact, they don’t talk at all. Honestly, I think career worry is so busy and preoccupied that there just isn’t a spare moment for career calm.

There is quite a contrast between career dread and career contentment. In the context of your career, dread is a death to hope, a death to optimism and a death to your dreams.