That promotion you're working toward? It won't make you happy.
Not for more than a week or two, anyway.
After nearly 20 years in tech, I've watched this pattern repeat:
- Engineers get promoted to Staff, feel great for a while, then anxiously chase Senior Staff
- Founders raise Series A, celebrate briefly, then stress about Series B
- Directors expand their scope, enjoy it momentarily, then immediately eye VP
We're all running on what psychologists call the "hedonic treadmill" - our happiness from achievements fades back to baseline remarkably fast. That promotion high lasts about as long as your favorite coffee buzz.
So what actually creates lasting satisfaction?
It's building from the inside out:
- Developing emotional resilience that no reorg can take away
- Building problem-solving beliefs that outlast any title
- Creating consistent practices that anchor you when everything else shifts
The paradox? When you stop desperately chasing that next promotion, you often achieve more. You make better decisions when you're not protecting your ego. You take smarter risks when failure doesn't threaten your identity.
Markets crash. Companies fold. Titles disappear. But the person you've become? That transformation actually lasts.
Unlike that promotion you're chasing.
Read more: "Your Next Promotion Won't Make You Happy: What actually creates lasting satisfaction" at https://lnkd.in/g-hbB55d
Not for more than a week or two, anyway.
After nearly 20 years in tech, I've watched this pattern repeat:
- Engineers get promoted to Staff, feel great for a while, then anxiously chase Senior Staff
- Founders raise Series A, celebrate briefly, then stress about Series B
- Directors expand their scope, enjoy it momentarily, then immediately eye VP
We're all running on what psychologists call the "hedonic treadmill" - our happiness from achievements fades back to baseline remarkably fast. That promotion high lasts about as long as your favorite coffee buzz.
So what actually creates lasting satisfaction?
It's building from the inside out:
- Developing emotional resilience that no reorg can take away
- Building problem-solving beliefs that outlast any title
- Creating consistent practices that anchor you when everything else shifts
The paradox? When you stop desperately chasing that next promotion, you often achieve more. You make better decisions when you're not protecting your ego. You take smarter risks when failure doesn't threaten your identity.
Markets crash. Companies fold. Titles disappear. But the person you've become? That transformation actually lasts.
Unlike that promotion you're chasing.
Read more: "Your Next Promotion Won't Make You Happy: What actually creates lasting satisfaction" at https://lnkd.in/g-hbB55d