Career Struggles: Do You See the Real Lessons They Teach You? | #CareerTips

Career struggles teach us many things about work. More importantly, they can teach us much about ourselves. They do this IF we see the real lessons about who we are. Do you see the real lessons about you that your career struggles are uncovering?



Career Struggles: Image is flowers some alive some dead.

Career Struggles: Do you see the real lessons they teach you? Image by Dion Gillard via Flickr Creative Commons License.

Image by Dion Gillard via Flickr Creative Commons License


Career Struggles: Do You See the Real Lessons About You?

If the answer to that question is not ‘yes’, you’re not alone. We all have some difficulty seeing what matters most to us and who we really are. Yet, career struggles can give us that insight and it is worth it!

A Scene From the Movie The Devil Wears Prada Can Illustrate

Andrea wants to be a journalist yet can’t get a job. So she takes a job as Miranda Priestly’s assistant at Runway magazine. Miranda, editor-in-chief, is beyond tough and demands twenty-four hour work. She tells Andrea that if she doesn’t do this, that she will think Andrea is not serious about success. Andrea succumbs to this pressure and it damages her personal relationships with family, friends, and boyfriend.

Career Struggles: A Missed Lesson

Fast forward toward the end of the movie. Andrea does finally walk out on Miranda. As Andrea meets up with her boyfriend to tell him he was right about her abandoning people. She then asks why, for what? He says, for couture dresses, and shoes etc… NO! That is not why she did what Miranda demanded. Andrea did it because it was the first time in her professional life that a bully boss questioned her worthiness and threatened her future. Andrea finally quit when Miranda showed her how she (the boss) had manipulated her into being something else.

Career Struggles: How to See the True Lessons Sooner

  1. Know what blocks your vision. Lack of confidence, embarrassment, burnout, societal pressure?

  2. Reflect on what kind of life you want. Career struggles often highlight what we really care about. Don’t hide from that light and deny your values.

  3. Throw off other’s expectations. Sometimes we absorb other’s definition of success and it buries our own.

  4. Give voice to your dream. Write down what a really good life looks like to you.

  5. Embrace the real lesson learned. Celebrate the lesson. Applaud your own willingness to learn and grow. It spurs you on to more learning.


I share this with you for I went through it many years ago. The lesson learned changed my life! I wish you positive lessons and much happiness in your growth and life.

From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™

Related Post:
Prevent These 7 Jealous Feelings & Behaviors From Ruining Your Professional Success

©2023 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com for permission and guidelines. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.


Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.


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