This wasn't advice I wanted to hear. It called into question the life I had built up. I was a 20-year-old undergraduate driven by opportunities and accomplishment. Moving and shaking was my mission in all facets of my very young life.

 

I was expecting to be praised for my energy and busyness. Busyness, not business. Isn't there a badge of honor we give out for people who "stay so busy" in our culture? And the energy I thought I was exhibiting...it was a complete facade that gave way to bad choices and big crashes.

 

Now 12+ years later, it is one of the best sentences I've ever heard:

 

It is a word of advice I offer my clients frequently in their pursuit of career and leadership goals. Don't mistake movement for progress.

 

If you've ever been in a job search you probably know what it feels like to be spinning your wheels at some point. You look up job postings. Apply, apply, apply. Move onto the next one. Don't hear back. Scroll aimlessly through LinkedIn, again, without any progress. Just a whole lot of movement and lost motivation.

 

The same goes for actual career transitions. The grass looks greener at the new employer, but six months in and you're thinking the new job was more about movement than progress. Should you have made that leap after all?