Go where the energy flows. If you feel yourself constantly pushing against resistance, that's not a challenge to overcome—it's a signal you're going the wrong direction.

This has been top of mind lately. At work, I've been pouring myself into initiatives that take everything from me. Long nights, weekends, frustration. Challenge, yes—but not always the good kind. Not the kind where you feel yourself growing. More like the Sisyphean kind: pushing a boulder up a hill, feeling okay that you finally got it to the top, only for it to roll back down. Starting over week after week. It doesn't feel like progress, even when there are lessons buried in the grind.

Then there are other projects I've worked on—ones that generate energy instead of draining it. Excitement. Interest. People asking me to keep going, specifically around building tools that help solve their problems.

Maybe that's where the energy is flowing. Why fight it?

Here's the image I keep coming back to: you can spend everything you have trying to force open a locked door. Maybe you'll eventually kick it down. But you'll be worn out, and you might not even like what's on the other side. Meanwhile, there's another door—already open, waiting. All you have to do is walk through. No forcing. Just ease.

I know I'm stubborn. I keep pulling at the locked door while the open one sits there with an invitation I refuse to accept. Part of me thinks the locked door has better opportunities behind it. More prestige. Better learning.

But at what cost? Being Sisyphus. Energy drained. Long hours. Limited career mobility. And for what—because I'm fixated on what I think should be the path?

Maybe this isn't the area where I shine. And maybe that's okay.

The people who have the most advantage at work aren't the ones who grind hardest against resistance. They're the ones who have fun—whose skills are naturally suited to the terrain they're on. If you consistently find yourself tired, frustrated, defeated, maybe it's not a failure.

Maybe it's just not a match.

There's another door. It's open. You don't have to force it.