Know when to leave a role that cannot compound your capital

Close your eyes and picture your week like a film strip. Where did you strain and grow? Where did you feel that quiet click of usefulness? Where did your jaw tense because of the same person or process? Your body often tells the truth before your résumé does. If you never meet resistance that produces growth, feel alienated from the outcome, and dread the people you need to collaborate with, your career capital won’t compound here.

Sit with that for a breath or two. Notice the hum of the room, the weight of your phone in your pocket. You’re not looking for a perfect job. You’re looking for a place where getting great is possible, the work doesn’t violate your values, and the humans don’t drain you dry. A friend stayed too long at a place where his best skill was dodging meetings. He left when he realized the only thing growing was his calendar.

There’s no need for drama. Run a simple test. If two or more of these are true—no room to build rare skills, mission feels useless or harmful, people are corrosive—start planning a bridge. Give yourself 60 to 90 days to search, learn, and make small bets elsewhere. Even a lateral move can restore momentum and hope. You’ll know you’re on track when your shoulders drop and you start counting deep minutes again.

From a psychological standpoint, this is about setting conditions for motivation: competence growth, meaningful goals, and supportive relationships. Without them, even grit becomes sand in the gears. With them, hard work feels worth it.

Take ten quiet minutes and run the three‑disqualifier test on your current role—headroom for rare skills, honest usefulness, and the people you work closely with—then decide if two or more are true and, if so, map a 60–90 day bridge plan that includes targeted learning, conversations, and small tests in roles with growth, alignment, and decent peers. You’re not chasing perfect, you’re choosing a place where effort compounds. Put the first calendar block on for tomorrow.