😬 White-knuckling our way through work

Toward a more holistic view of success

🏁 Today! Don’t forget to enter the Career River Chat Giveaway for your chance to connect with me one-on-one. I’ll start sending out call invites this week. 📞😊

---

I recently shared on LinkedIn that I’ve needed to take a break from work travel for health reasons:

I just made a tough decision that's been hanging over me for weeks. I chose reducing my stress by saying no to an optional work trip, and while I'm disappointed not to be there, it mostly feels profoundly relieving.

I've been living with an undiagnosed chronic health issue. My provider has now referred me to a specialist to try and sort out what's going on. I'm taking a travel pause to focus on finding answers, which means no solo trips. For the first time in years, I'm not pressuring myself to white-knuckle my way through work travel because I feel like I should. What I should do is take care of myself. …

I am incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to share my work and connect with others at conferences. And honestly, I worry about what I'll miss out on by not being there. So many people find travel out of reach for various reasons — health, caregiving, financial — and we don't do enough to extend the benefits of participation outside conference hallways. (I have some ideas on this front, message me if you'd like to discuss.) My managers have been understanding and supportive. I was the one putting the pressure on myself. I would look at the cost-benefit calculation and decide my stress didn't matter as much. No more.

I'm also incredibly fortunate to be able to prioritize my health for this moment. The clarity that comes with saying I won't be traveling solo until this is sorted out is truly an enormous weight off my shoulders. Maybe next year I'll be able to hop on a plane, and the selfie I take will show an authentic smile. Until then, I'm glad I've finally recognized that sometimes success means stepping back.

After I posted, I was surprised at how many people reached out to share similar stories of white-knuckling their way through work. And I was also a bit surprised at how many people thanked me for my courage in opening up about this decision.

It shouldn’t be considered courageous to stand up for our needs as people. But that’s the reality of our success-obsessed culture of work.

The Career River isn’t just a new way to look at navigating through change. It’s a more holistic way of approaching our work lives, as pathways toward fulfillment instead of an excruciating, extractive climb.

Caring, not carrots 🥕

I kicked off last week’s Career River Community Call (here’s the recording passcode: 97.Mvj2A) with a pop quiz about the career ladder: just how far back does it go?