When Growth Looks Like Walking Away
You can honor the career that raised you and admit it no longer fits. Outgrowing isn’t failure. It’s evidence you listened to yourself.
Most of us were taught that a “good” career is one long, uninterrupted climb. Promotions, bigger titles, more recognition—stacked neatly, year after year.
When you leave that trajectory, it can feel like stepping off the edge of something.
And if you’ve spent years tying your worth to achievement, stepping off can look dangerously close to giving up. But growth doesn’t always look like up.
Sometimes it looks like out.
It starts as a restlessness you try to logic away. A quiet ache in the space between what you’re capable of and what you’re allowed to do. The mismatch becomes louder. You start noticing how you shrink to fit the expectations of a version of yourself you’ve already outgrown. You feel guilt about wanting something different. Grief about leaving the identity you built.
But underneath all that?
There’s a knowing.
A voice that says: This isn’t wrong—it’s true.
Staying feels easier because it doesn’t require explaining yourself. You keep the title, the salary, the validation. You get to be seen as “successful,” even if you feel hollow inside. You don’t have to disappoint the people who expect you to keep playing the part.
But safety built on self-abandonment is a transaction you’ll always overpay for.
Growth isn’t always more output. Sometimes it’s more honesty. You know you’re growing when:
You can see the gap between your capacity and your environment.
You’re willing to question old definitions of success.
You trust yourself enough to move before you collapse.
It’s not reckless to leave. It’s responsible to honor the truth you can no longer ignore.
You didn’t waste the years. You didn’t fail by outgrowing the work. The skills, relationships, and experiences were never a mistake.
You simply reached the edge of what that season could offer. Sometimes growth looks like walking away from a structure you’ve outgrown.
And that’s not failure. It’s fidelity to yourself.
If you’re ready to reclaim the story of your work, Off/Script™ is here when you are.
This piece is part of The Edit — presence-first leadership narratives from The Co.
