Most designers I know hit the same wall at some point. The stuck feeling. Waiting for a manager to notice them, a mentor to hand them a roadmap, or some wave of motivation to finally arrive and make everything obvious.
I lived this too — earlier in my career than I’d like to admit.
And I tell everyone I mentor the same thing it took me a while to actually believe: Nobody is coming to plan your career for you.
The passenger mode trap
It is easy to get stuck in passenger mode. In school, you get a syllabus. In your early junior roles, you get assigned tasks. We are practically trained to sit around and wait for the next set of instructions.
You were handed the keys. Nobody told you to drive.
A mentor can give you perspective. A manager can clear roadblocks. But they will never care about your career as much as you do.
Motivation is not a feeling that suddenly strikes you on a Tuesday morning. It is a habit you build by deciding what you want and going after it.
Ask for help, not a free ride
Taking charge does not mean you have to figure everything out in isolation. The best professionals I know ask for help constantly. But there is a huge difference between asking someone to guide you and asking them to carry you.
Do the heavy lifting first:
- Figure out where you want to go.
- Identify where your skills are lacking.
- Draft a messy, imperfect plan.
Then take that to your manager or mentor and say, “Here is what I am trying to pull off, and here is my plan. Can you help me find the blind spots?”
People love helping someone who is already moving. It is nearly impossible to help someone who is standing still.
The two lists you need for the bad days
Even once you start moving, there will be bad weeks. Weeks where you feel like you have not grown at all. This is where two simple habits make the difference.
The career backlog
Just like product teams have backlogs for features, you need one for your own growth. Not vague goals like “get better at leadership” — specific, actionable tasks. “Run the kickoff meeting for the next big feature.” “Learn how to prototype that complex interaction.”
Prioritize the top three. Put the list somewhere you look every day. When you have downtime and do not know what to do, pull a ticket from your own backlog.
The done file
This one is for the bad days. We have a terrible habit of moving the goalposts on ourselves. The second we finish something difficult, we immediately look at the next big mountain and feel inadequate all over again.
Write down your wins. The messy client feedback you navigated successfully. The project that finally shipped. The junior colleague you helped get unstuck. When you feel like an imposter who has not grown in months, read this list. It is hard proof that you are moving forward.
Keep driving
Stop waiting to be discovered. Build your backlog. Look back at what you have already done to remind yourself what you are capable of. And start moving.
Ask for directions when you get lost — but never forget that you are the one driving.
If any of this resonated, I would love to hear where you are in your journey. Connect with me on LinkedIn — or if you are looking for a thinking partner, I take on a small number of mentees through ADPList.
