If Your Company Isn’t Growing, Neither Are You
A look back at the years I spent trading my peace for pennies and the reason I finally stopped waiting for permission to thrive.
Trading My Worth for a Foot in the Door
I used to enter job interviews with one goal: prove I belonged. I was so focused on getting the door open that I would sell myself short before I even sat in the chair. I accepted whatever they offered, telling myself I would just work twice as hard to earn the raise later. I was trading my worth for the hope of future permission to thrive.
Loyalty Paid in Pennies
Early in my career, I was the queen of not rocking the boat. I didn’t complain to leadership. I didn’t ask the hard questions. I just worked until I was exhausted, and then I looked for a new chapter. I stayed through the rounds of layoffs. I stayed when the leadership went silent. I stayed when yearly reviews resulted in raises that were quite literally pennies.
I ignored the signs because I thought loyalty was a one-way street. I watched “fun perks” launch and then disappear after two months. I was waiting for the company to read my mind and reward my silence, but silence only ever buys you more of the same.
Reaching for More and Finding a Ceiling
The realization didn’t come in a flash. It came when I got bored. I started reaching across teams to learn new roles. I signed up for volunteer programs to network. I was going above and beyond, but my manager didn’t even blink. During my performance review, I presented my work with pride. It was waved off. No development goals. No path forward.
It became clear that to stay there was to accept being stagnant for the next five years. That is if the next round of layoffs didn’t get me first.
The Sober Truth About My Past
It took time to see those years for what they really were. It wasn’t until much later—after I walked away from alcohol and moved to a plant-based lifestyle—that the rose-colored glasses finally shattered.
Sobriety brought a clarity that changed how I view my past. I look back at those old versions of myself and see how much time I was wasting by acting out of emotion or dwelling on things that didn’t serve me. I realized that time is the only currency that truly matters, and I had been spending it in rooms that didn’t value it.
Finding Success in My Right Mind
Real culture isn’t a checklist or a catchy slogan on a breakroom wall. It is the follow-through. It is the company that promotes internally because they actually have a growth culture. It is the manager who handles uncomfortable conversations directly instead of letting them turn into distractions.
I stopped being afraid to speak up. I stopped assuming people could read my thoughts. Now, I approach the uncomfortable moments head-on. If a company or a person is afraid of being challenged by a question, it usually means they are unsure of the answer or they simply don’t care.
The Difference Between a Perk and a Path
I stopped mistaking “perks” for care.
A company that only cares when it is convenient is not a place where you can grow. If the environment around you is stagnant, you will eventually start to settle into that same stillness. You deserve to be in a place that values your time as much as you do.
Never settle for an environment that asks you to be less so they can feel more comfortable. If your company isn’t growing, neither are you.
When was the last time you asked a hard question at work, and did the answer make you feel like you were in the right room?