When something feels off at work
Readtime: 2 minutes
Quickly, before we get into today’s newsletter, I’m hosting a free webinar on Thursday next week (15th January). It’s called ‘How to know your best career move in 2026’. It’s for you if you’re a senior professional who wants a better role in 2026 but don’t know what that is. The goal is simple: to give you my proven ‘Career Compass’ framework that you can implement immediately so you will know what to do.
And for those who want something more hands-on, I’ll spend a few minutes at the end explaining how my Atomic Ambition programme can make things much easier for you.
The webinar will be recorded, but if you attend live you will also get a couple of exclusive offers.
If you want in, use this link to secure your spot.
Now, on with today’s newsletter…
The three common reactions
When something feels off at work, most people respond in one of three ways.
1. The first way is to ignore it.
They tell themselves it’s just a phase, a busy period, or maybe it’s “just January”. They double down, keep going, and hope the feeling disappears soon.
2. The second is to distract themselves.
They throw themselves into new projects, longer hours, or planning the next holiday. Anything that stops them thinking about it for too long. (This is definitely the approach I’ve taken in the past…)
3. The third is to overreact.
They decide the role is wrong, the company is wrong, or their whole career is wrong, and start rehearsing dramatic exits before they’ve really understood the problem they’re facing.
Why none of them really help
All three feel productive in the moment. But none of them actually are.
Ignoring it usually turns that low level discomfort into long-term frustration.
Distraction just delays the inevitable.
Overreaction normally creates more problems, especially if done in haste.
What’s missing in all three responses is thinking space.
Not rumination. Not endless analysis.
But deliberate time to understand what is actually wrong and why.
What’s usually actually going on
In my experience, when people slow down enough to do that, the issue is rarely as simple as “I hate my job” or “I need a new role”.
More often, it’s one of these:
They’ve outgrown the work.
They’re using only part of their capabilities.
They’ve said yes too many times to the wrong things.
Their definition of success has shifted, but their role hasn’t.
And these are problems you solve by asking better questions.
A better question to ask
Here’s one question that’s much more useful than “What should I do next?”:
What outdated version of me does my current role keep reinforcing?
That answer tends to be very revealing because it highlights a version of us that we’d no longer like to be, but cling to because it feels safe.
There’s a middle ground between drifting on autopilot and blowing everything up. It’s where you make sense of what you already know, and decide what deserves your time and energy next.
That’s the space I try and spend most of my time in. It works for me in my current work, for example, where I try out incremental approaches in my workshops and LinkedIn content, rather than ripping something up and starting over (most of the time!). And it works for me in my personal life too, for example progressively building on practices like exercise and meditation.
What I’ve learned is that if something feels off, it’s best not to either rush past it or over dramatise it. But to give it the proper, thoughtful attention it deserves.
The part of you that no longer fits
If you’re feeling unsettled or quietly frustrated, try giving yourself a short window of thinking space rather than pushing it away. Take a blank page and finish this sentence a few times:
“My role keeps rewarding me for being someone who…”
Don’t rush to fix anything. Just notice what’s there. Some of it you’ll like. Some of it you won’t.
That simple act of identifying a few things that now feel outdated for you will help much more than weeks of overthinking.
Hopefully that’s sparked some thought for you – and if you try answering that question, I’d love to know. I reply to every email.
See you all next week.
Mostyn
P.S. If you want in to the “How to know your best career move in 2026” webinar on Thursday 15th January, use this link to secure your spot.
P.P.S. If this emails resonates and you want a calmer, more structured way to think about your career this year, Atomic Ambition begins on Monday 26th January.