The Temptation That Locks You Into The Wrong Life

There’s a hidden trap in the world of careers that’s easy to fall into, often without noticing until we’re already in it.

It starts like this: A path opens up, and you decide to go for it. You begin to build a life around it. The way your day unfolds, the routines you settle into, even the way you dress. All these small choices start shaping the life you’re creating.

You get started, you do well, and positive feedback starts coming.

It feels amazing. People love what you do. Whether it’s your boss, your coworkers, the people you serve, or your family. It’s so good that you start making your next decisions around how to get more of that feeling…

Little by little, the life you’re creating starts to shape itself around recognition and rewards.

Until one day, you pause. Maybe it hits after a tough day. Maybe you hear someone, see someone, or read something that pokes into that spot of truth. Maybe around a shift to a new year when you can’t help but reflect. And you realize you’ve locked yourself into a life or career that doesn’t truly align with what you deeply want to be living, doing, or expressing.

Now you feel caged. Trapped by the very things you worked so hard to create.

…

So, wherever you are, whatever you’re pursuing, how about pausing to check in?

What are you pursuing right now… and why?

If you removed positive feedback and the rewards, would you still love what you’re doing?

Would you still be excited about where you’re headed?

Would you still be fired up about where this path might take you in a year, two years, or five?

Recognition or rewards are beautiful… when they come as a byproduct of you doing what you genuinely want to be doing.

Can you separate the feeling of recognition from your actual desires and what you actually care about?

Can you imagine choosing a path where there’s no applause? Just you, doing what feels right?

What captivates you without external rewards?

The answers might surprise you.

The revelations might lead you to start making decisions that reflect what you truly want, no matter what others think, say, or offer you.

Some people might find that scary, but not you. Because you know you don’t have to tear everything you’ve built down. You simply replicate what you’ve already done, except that this time, your decisions will be coming from someplace deeper. From your awareness.

Just as it started back then, it can start again today…

A path opens up, and you say yes to it.

You begin to build a life around it.

You build supportive routines.

You make small, intentional choices that start shaping the life you’re creating next.

You do well. Not just in the world’s eyes. In your own.

Recognition and rewards find you again.

It feels amazing, but this time, it’s different.

You love what you do.

When you get quiet, you can feel a deep, grounded satisfaction that tells you you’re exactly where you’re meant to be. You’re doing what you’re meant to be doing. Serving in the way you’re meant to serve. Impacting lives of others in the way only you can… The last thing you want is for this to stop.

And one day, maybe in a quiet moment, maybe during the shift into a new year, you reflect.

You feel a deep, genuine pride for the choice you made back then. You’re grateful for how your life unfolded, knowing that all it needed was for you to say yes to what felt true and begin shifting, right from where you were in that moment of realization.