In this episode, I explore something that comes up frequently in my coaching work, especially with people in mid-career. It’s subtle and easy to miss, but once you see it, a lot of things begin to make sense.
Many of us are following an invisible script when it comes to our careers, whether we realise it or not. I certainly was, and perhaps you are too.
These scripts are often written much earlier in our lives. At the time, they usually made sense. They are often rooted in sensible advice and good intentions, wrapped in a cautious or conservative way of thinking.
Examples include:
Keep your head down and work hard
Be grateful for what you have
Find something secure and stick with it
Don’t rock the boat
These messages often come from people who care about us, such as parents, teachers, and managers. Sometimes they come from the culture of the profession we trained in.
Initially, these scripts can be very helpful. They help us progress, build credibility, and create stability.
For example, “keep your head down and work hard” can be excellent advice at certain stages of life. When you’re studying, building basic skills, overcoming procrastination, or wanting to make a good impression in a new role, effort and focus really do matter.
Similarly, “be grateful for what you have” and “stick with something” can be wise guidance. Most worthwhile work has a learning curve, and early discomfort doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong. Sticking with something long enough to get good at it can be a smart move.
The issue isn’t that these messages are wrong. It’s that they can quietly outstay their usefulness.
What once helped you grow can later start to limit you if it’s never questioned. And because the script is invisible, we rarely stop to ask whether it still fits.
What I often see are people who are successful on paper, capable, experienced, and respected, yet quietly disengaged. They feel flat, restless, bored, or trapped. Or they sense that something important is missing but can’t quite name it.
This discomfort is often not about confidence or clarity. It’s about living inside a story that no longer reflects who you are. Sometimes, it’s a story that isn’t even yours.
If you’re feeling stuck or trapped, it’s rarely because you haven’t thought things through properly. More often, it’s because you’re thinking inside a story you didn’t consciously choose.
It’s like driving in fog. You can see just enough to keep moving, but not enough to feel confident about where you’re heading.
There are many ways to step back and take a wider view of your story, and writing is one of the most effective.
Writing gives you a way to explore what’s going on without needing immediate answers or a perfect plan. It helps bypass the inner editor, the part of you that wants to sound sensible, reasonable, and socially acceptable.
Writing slows thinking down. Because you’re so close to your own habitual thinking, it creates the distance needed to make sense of your career. Often, the first words on the page are closer to the truth than the ones we’d say out loud.
As I get closer to publishing my new book, Write Your Career, I’ve been returning to some of the simplest exercises in it. Here’s one you can try now.
If you can, pause the podcast and do this exercise. If not, you can come back to it later.
Write down five words that describe your career so far.
Don’t overthink it. Just write whatever comes first.
Write five words that describe the career you want from here.
Again, no editing or judging. Just notice what appears.
Look at the two lists side by side and reflect:
Which words feel chosen and truly yours?
Which feel inherited?
Which feel like someone else’s idea of success?
The gap between these two lists can be very revealing. It often shows where you may be living by an old script and where something new is trying to emerge.
You don’t need to decide anything today. You don’t need to take action or make a plan.
Simply seeing the invisible script often loosens its grip. Once you notice it, it’s no longer invisible.
You don’t need to rewrite your entire career, but it’s useful to know whose story you’re living.
If this resonates, my book Write Your Career is built around this kind of reflective work. It’s designed as a practical way of thinking things through on the page.
You can download the first chapter for free and, if you like what you see, pre-order the book on Amazon.
Links are in the show notes.
In the next episode, I’ll continue this conversation and share a simple writing practice that helps rebuild confidence when it’s taken a knock, especially during periods of career change.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next time.
If you’d like to explore these ideas further, you can find my book Write Your Career here:
https://www.bravocoaching.co.uk/books