9 Ways to Measure Progress When Your Career Feels Stuck

Episode 126: I moved to Tampa in June, and I'm finally caught up enough to tell you what my "new life" actually looks like these days:

• The home podcast studio that failing on me
• Dierks getting scared by fireworks for the first time
• Trying out a run club that humbled me -- FAST.
• And a cool Seminole Heights drive-through coffee spot with a croissant panini I can't stop thinking about.

I also get honest about why the podcast has been so haphazard and randomly quiet this year, and about the strange mental gymnastics I deal with after spending a decade in national security trained not to share, then trying to publically build something that only works if I do. I am three years into this podcast and my progress still feels so jagged. So here are nine ways to measure progress when your career feels stuck, and not one of them shows up on a résumé.

In this episode, I'll talk about:

• Nine markers of progress that have nothing to do with your job title
• Why getting back up is the most underrated skill you have
• What your daily habits say about the life you're actually building
• How to tell a real boundary from a goalpost you keep moving
• Why emotional composure is something you build, not something you're born with
• What starting over in a new city looks like while you're still in the thick of it

CHAPTERS

0:00 Welcome Back!

0:44 Why I started my podcast in the middle of an identity crisis

2:38 Why I moved to Florida to start over again

5:44 What starting over in a new city actually looks like

9:17 Why the podcast has been quiet this year

13:32 How do you tell your story when your career depends on privacy?

18:24 What if you’ve been measuring progress the wrong way?

19:52 What we give doesn’t always return

21:17 Progress you can’t see: love, loyalty, and work ethic

28:40 Progress you can’t see: grace, resilience, and daily habits

37:36 Progress you can’t see: composure, kindness, and boundaries

45:35 Questions to ask when you’re feeling behind in life

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