How do you tell the difference between discomfort because you’re growing… and discomfort because you’re on the wrong path? Vanessa Grant asks at our monthly #BadAssBA end-of-year panel
Ashley Douglas, APTD referenced Seth Godin’s “The Dip” – a helpful way to name the experience:
A dip: hard, uncomfortable, but you’re progressing
A cul-de-sac: lots of effort, no forward movement
Another framing I liked was the idea of the bar just out of reach.
If you can almost touch it, the stretch feels demanding but achievable.
If the bar is so far away that chasing it is draining you physically, mentally, or emotionally — that’s a different signal.
With experience, the difference becomes easier to spot:
🍌Growth discomfort still feels energising underneath the fear
🍌Misalignment feels heavy, repetitive, and depleting
And sometimes, it really does come down to a simple question:
What’s the worst that could actually happen?
If the honest answer isn’t “a pink fire-breathing dragon,” then maybe it’s worth trying — even if the outcome isn’t guaranteed. You’ll learn something either way.
Career paths aren’t linear.
A few wrong turns are often how the signal gets clearer.
Hearing the experience on this panel opened my eyes quite a bit here.
Stil time to register, join us now 👇🏻
