Stagnation

Lately, I’ve had a strange feeling, like I’m being quietly sidelined in a place where I thought I would grow.

It didn’t show up all at once. At first, it was just a passing thought, something easy to brush off as overthinking. But when a feeling lingers long enough, it starts asking to be acknowledged.

I never had trouble fitting in. I’ve always tried to show up as a team player, contributing where I can, and growing alongside others. Lately, though, that sense of inclusion feels thinner, more distant, like I’m present, but not fully seen.

At some point, I decided to take action. I offered help and asked to be involved. Not out of obligation, but because I truly wanted to learn, contribute, and grow with everyone else. I didn’t ask for special treatment; I just wanted to be included.

But when nothing came from those efforts, things shifted. It becomes exhausting to keep reaching when nothing reaches back. And after a while, you start to wonder whether continuing to ask is actually helping you grow or just wearing you out. It makes you question how much more effort it should take before being noticed at all.

Growth doesn’t always disappear dramatically. Sometimes it just fades away. Fewer challenges, fewer opportunities to grow, fewer chances to learn something new. Then you begin to wonder if it’s just bad timing, a misunderstanding, or something else.

The hardest part isn’t just feeling stuck; it’s watching others move forward while you remain in the same place. And when that happens often enough, it forces a quiet reckoning about what you really need to keep growing, not just about the job.

I don’t have a clear answer yet. Only an awareness that stagnation slowly erodes motivation.