Struggle to success

The relationship between success and struggle is deeply underrated.

Last week I boarded a flight for work for the first time in 2 years. I’d had health challenges when traveling before, so I kept close to home until I could figure them out.

This time, I had some new medication and some new hope. But I still wasn’t sure how it would go. Talking to my therapist the week before the trip, I started to say, “If I can make it – ” and she gently interrupted to say “Not ‘if.’ When.”

When it comes to our careers, we’ve been conditioned to expect that everything should unfold exactly as we plan. That success comes from hitting each milestone along the way, whether it’s a project or our entire career trajectory.

And we assume everyone else is pursuing this predictable path as well. We don’t see the hidden struggles, the secret challenge, the fighting spirit. Unless we choose to share it.

On my trip, our team spent a lot of time talking about what we’d learned from our work. Not everything was a glowing success story, but the challenges were as helpful to setting strategy (maybe even moreso) than the wins. And on the last night, after dinner, I found out that many of the people around me had faced down their own health issues. I had assumed their achievements came easily. I was wrong.

We don’t find success despite challenge, but because we fight through it.

Instead of expecting an easy, straight path to success, Navigators recognize that there are no ups without downs. That is where the learning happens. Where resilience builds. Where we learn who we are and what we are capable of achieving.

Not if. When.

Happy navigating,
Bridget

P.S. Could you use some clarity for your current career challenge? People are already saving their seats for our next Job Hunt Pathfinder strategy session on Oct. 7! Learn more here.