If you are stuck . . .

📸 by Myles Pasion, "Bridge" by Charles Boyce Kiyooka Ohe Arts Centre.

– you are in a masterclass of learning how you best work.

Stuck = an exodus from work; a feeling of being universally unemployable and disinterested in everything work-related, directionless in the pursuit of a career

My lived theory (5 years in) is that you are learning how you best work when the rules are stripped away.

Even everyday things like:
💚 When you are most productive, when no one is watching
💚 What food gives you focus
💚 When your body likes to discard waste 💩
💚 What friends make you feel like the version of yourself you wish you could always be

You start to see the redundancy in who you are. How in every situation you are you.

There’s a taken-for-granted-ness in this freedom.

What makes these seasons of unbelonging and unassimilation so worth it is the learning of how you operate best.

It takes time to unlearn. To catch your own judgement and grow your confidence to declare how you work best, what are the conditions and who helps you thrive in them.

Cherish it, because not everyone is given the golden ticket of stuck-ness.

Article FAQs generated by ChatGPT:
1. Why does the author describe being stuck as a “golden ticket,” when most people view it as a negative state?
Being stuck is reframed as a golden ticket because it strips away the external structures, expectations, and rules that often shape how we think we should work. This absence creates a rare chance to observe ourselves in raw form—our natural rhythms, preferences, and triggers. Instead of being purely negative, it becomes an opportunity to learn how we function at our core and to realign future choices with that self-knowledge.

2. How does the concept of “redundancy in who you are” challenge traditional notions of career success?
Traditional career success often assumes that adaptability, productivity, and external validation determine worth. But the idea of redundancy in who you are suggests that no matter the context, your essence and tendencies repeat themselves. This challenges the belief that success is only about fitting into external systems. Instead, it shifts focus toward recognizing and leveraging one’s inherent patterns of being as the true marker of alignment and sustainable success.

3. What does this perspective imply about the long-term value of seasons of “unbelonging” or “unassimilation”?
The post implies that seasons of unbelonging hold long-term value because they build resilience and self-trust. While uncomfortable, these periods give individuals the space to experiment, unlearn, and discover the specific conditions where they thrive. Over time, this knowledge allows them to consciously design a work life that is more authentic and fulfilling, rather than defaulting to systems that don’t fit them.