Feeling Stuck? It’s Not Just the Job


No one likes traffic jams. Even those who enjoy traveling, or those who like sitting around, none of them do. Everyone is frustrated by them. What is so bad about being stuck in traffic? Unlike traffic police, for whom being in traffic is part of the job, for everyone else, commuting is just a means to a greater purpose: reaching a destination, whatever that may be. This is plainly obvious to all of us.

We have goals in life, places where we want to see ourselves in the future. For many, work or a job isn’t a passion but simply a means to achieve a larger goal. Over time, we get entangled in our jobs to the point where our entire life begins to revolve around them. We have friends from the office, a promotion we aspire to, and a daily social life that is separate from our family. We end up forgetting that it all started as just a means to an end, which has now become an integral part of our lives, one we never consciously chose.


Means vs Goals


Consider the life of a typical wildlife photographer. Their daily job may involve travel, safaris, and long hours. But that same daily grind helps them achieve their primary goal: the thrill of capturing surreal moments in the wild. This job isn’t just a means; it’s deeply intertwined with their core objective. They make friends with like-minded people, and their social life also revolves around their work.

Now, consider the life of a typical bank employee. Their main goal is likely not to hand out loans to people in need. The job is merely a tool to earn money and pursue other aspirations. They make friends at the office, share fun moments, and build a social life around work, but it remains separate from their true goals.

In both cases, they work hard and earn a living. But the latter is more likely to feel burned out or stuck when things don’t go well. There are two key differences:

  1. In the first case, the means of achieving the goal is tightly coupled with the goal itself.
  2. The goals are achieved more frequently, giving a regular sense of fulfillment.
Not everyone has the luxury of earning a living doing what they love. That’s a cold, hard reality. So we may not have much control over the means, which can be completely unrelated to our deeper life goals.

Managing Burnout



A vacation to a beautiful place might help relieve burnout, but only if your goal is to travel the world. For most people, the deeper cause of burnout isn’t exhaustion alone; it’s the ongoing lack of progress toward something personally meaningful.

But even if we can’t always choose the means, we can still stay connected to our goals. Whatever your objective is, break it down into small, manageable pieces that are clearly visible and achievable. When we actively pursue and complete these smaller pieces, they offer us a sense of momentum and fulfillment. That feeling becomes a feedback loop, a subtle but powerful signal that we’re moving forward, not standing still.

Progress doesn’t always require a dramatic leap. Sometimes, it’s the quiet satisfaction of ticking off a small task that aligns with your bigger vision. And while it takes effort and intention to break your goals down, reflect on them, and map them out, doing so gives you back a sense of agency. Because in the end, it’s not just about escaping the feeling of being stuck. It’s about reclaiming the direction of your life, one meaningful step at a time.

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