Kenapa Kita Merasa Belum Cukup Saat Karier Terus Maju?

“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”

Self Growth Itu Apa? Cara Menumbuhkan Skill, Penghasilan, Mental, dan Spiritual

👤 Jurnalis Berita • 05/10/2026

Seneca, Letters to Lucilius, Letter 13

After getting a promotion, completing a big project, or finally landing the salary you once wanted, you still feel like it’s not enough.

Kadika has been in that spot, constantly chasing the next goal while assuming relief would follow.

It turns out, new accomplishments often bring only a brief pause before the mind starts drafting the next benchmark.

That feeling isn’t proof that you’re ungrateful or failing to enjoy life.

Often, there’s a mix of rising expectations, the habit of comparison, and a definition of success you haven’t truly chosen for yourself.

Mengapa Kita Masih Merasa Belum Cukup Ketika Target Tercapai?

Targets often appear clear from the outside, such as a promotion, a specific amount of savings, or a dream employer.

Yet, the picture of life after a goal is often fuzzier than the goal list itself.

You might imagine a promotion bringing more peace of mind, only to discover that responsibilities and working hours also expand.

Your salary climbs, but expenses adjust too, as you start feeling the need for a new home, vehicle, or lifestyle.

A constantly shifting benchmark of success makes past achievements feel routine quickly.

“Once I reach this position, shouldn’t I feel satisfied already?”

Not necessarily, because reaching a goal can satisfy a specific target without automatically meeting other needs like rest, connection, security, or autonomy.

Kadika used to think achieving a target would instantly bring peace of mind, when often only the numbers and calendar responsibilities actually changed.

If after a promotion you find yourself eating lunch less often without checking your laptop, it’s reasonable that your satisfaction feels smaller than expected.

That doesn’t mean the promotion lacked value, but rather that other parts of life also need attention.

Psychologist Barry Schwartz explores how too many choices and standards can keep people dwelling on options they haven’t taken, as discussed in The Paradox of Choice.

In the workplace, a similar pattern appears when each success quickly transforms into a new requirement before you allow yourself to feel satisfied.

Membandingkan Diri Membuat Prestasi Kita Terlihat Kecil

You check LinkedIn after wrapping up work and see a classmate announce a new role or a move to a more prestigious office.

“Shouldn’t I be where he is by now?” is a thought that pops up.

That question feels natural because what we see is usually just a fragment of someone’s success, not the entire process behind it.

Psychologist Leon Festinger described the human tendency to compare oneself with others in his theory of social comparison.

Comparison can be helpful when you’re looking for strategies, such as copying how a colleague gives presentations or builds new skills.

But it becomes exhausting when you use other people’s lives as the sole metric to judge your own.

A colleague who appears to climb the career ladder quickly might have different experiences, support, family circumstances, or priorities than you.

You also don’t always see the pressure they faced, the work they gave up, or the sacrifices they made outside of work.

Snippets of other people’s lives aren’t a fair yardstick for your entire journey.

Kadika once compared their own journey to someone else’s good news, as if life were a race with the same finish line.

Yet, Kadika didn’t even know if the person they were comparing to was running toward the same destination, hehehe.

If social media has you busy measuring your distance against others, try shifting the question to, “What can I learn from their steps?”

That question helps you gain insight without turning someone else’s success into proof that you’re falling behind.

Your Success Standards Might Be Borrowed from Others

You might pursue a certain position because family thinks it’s prestigious, friends consider it important, or the industry constantly praises those with that title.

“But if I don’t chase the promotion, won’t people think I lack ambition?”

Ambition doesn’t always have to mean climbing the ladder as fast as possible or taking on every extra responsibility.

Ambition can also mean building lasting expertise, having time for family, or working at a pace that doesn’t deplete your health.

External standards are often easy to measure, such as follower count, salary, job title, and company name on a professional profile.

Meanwhile, personal metrics can be simpler, like having enough rest time or being brave enough to voice your opinion in meetings.

More personal measurements remain real even if they can’t be showcased in a single post.

You can start by separating three things: what you truly want, what you pursue for acceptance, and what simply looks impressive.

For example, you might truly desire a higher income but don’t want to manage a large team.

In that case, a specialist path might fit better than chasing a managerial role just because it’s seen as the sole marker of progress.

Kadika’s article titled “Wealth is a Process, Success is a Definition” also reminds us that the meaning of success can vary from person to person.

Choosing your own definition isn’t a reason to stop growing; it’s a way to direct your energy toward the life you truly want.

How Can We Feel Content Without Stopping Growth?

Feeling content doesn’t mean you should stop setting goals or accept situations that could still improve.

“If I start feeling satisfied, will I lose my drive?”

Satisfaction and the drive to grow don’t have to cancel each other out.

You can appreciate the progress you’ve made while honestly acknowledging there are still things you aim to achieve.

To practice this, record one career advancement each week that you typically brush off quickly.

For example, you managed to share your opinion in a meeting, finish a task before the deadline, or ask for help before you became overwhelmed.

Afterward, write down the real impact of that progress on your work or life.

Visible small wins can provide a more balanced perspective than just tallying the big goals still pending.

Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer discuss the benefits of paying attention to daily progress in their article The Power of Small Wins published in the Harvard Business Review.

That idea is useful for careers because growth doesn’t always come in the form of a promotion or salary change.

You can see it in more organized work habits, sharpened skills, or courage to handle difficult conversations.

Also try setting a limit for one goal, such as when you’ll evaluate the outcome and when you’ll give yourself time to enjoy the process.

If, for instance, your goal is to find a new job within six months, set controllable metrics such as the number of tailored applications you submit and the amount of study time per week.

You can’t control all responses from recruiters, but you can see your effort and growth more clearly.

Be careful also with statements like “I’ll rest only when everything is done.”

In a job, the list of things to be done often reappears tomorrow, so rest shouldn’t wait for perfect circumstances.

Kadika is also still learning to distinguish the drive to grow from the habit of moving the finish line every time a goal is achieved.

If you often feel guilty when you rest, it might be a sign that your productivity metrics need review, not a reason to punish yourself harder.

Learning to Acknowledge the Achievements You’re Currently Pursuing

The feeling of not being enough usually doesn’t resolve with a single affirmation or a day without checking social media.

However, you can start creating space to view your career experience more holistically, not just through the next target.

“I still have many things left to achieve, so what’s the point of appreciating myself now?”

Appreciating yourself isn’t about pretending everything is fine or denying the ambitions you have.

It means you stop erasing the effort you’ve already put in just because your journey isn’t finished yet.

Try looking back over the past year and write down the changes that truly occurred in how you work, communicate, or make decisions.

Perhaps the change is small, but it can indicate that you’ve moved, not that you’re standing in the same place.

If Kadika may invite you to reflect, what’s one thing you can now do better than you did a year ago?

And if that achievement doesn’t need to be compared to anyone else, can you still consider it meaningful?

You can grow without downplaying your own journey, and you can feel content today without closing the door to tomorrow.

Kadika hopes you can take away a more honest question than “when will I finally succeed?”—namely, “what kind of life am I actually building?”

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