The Seductive Fast Track: Why Fast Growth Is Fragile and Keeps You Stuck

Summary: Fast growth feels tempting, but it’s fragile. Without clarity, the same problems follow you into each new role. Real, lasting growth comes from honesty, aligned choices, and one step at a time.

Are you looking for the silver bullet to fast track your career?

Science and psychology show that the fast track is fragile for lasting change.

Breakthroughs aren’t luck. They’re built. And while fast growth can get you across the finish line, the harder truth is this: if it’s not grounded, your problems follow you into the next role, the next company, or the next season of life.

I saw this up close back in my consulting days. Teams would scale fast, land the deal, and sprint to deliver. But the cracks always showed—burnout, politics, the same struggles repeated in a new form.

The same is true on a personal level. Growth that sticks isn’t forced. It’s earned.

In a recent coaching session, one of my clients—a mid-career overthinker and perfectionist—reflected:

"I’ve increased my self-esteem this year."

That’s not something you stumble into.
It’s not something that happens overnight.

It’s what happens when you:

• Stop tolerating what no longer fits

• Advocate for yourself, even through tears

• Get honest about what you want and what you deserve

She didn’t change by force.
She changed by showing up differently—one aligned step at a time.

Since then:

• She’s been promoted

• She’s happier

• She’s carving out a role she once thought belonged to someone else

This is what it looks like when new beliefs become real—through action.

If you’re in that quiet place of “something needs to shift”…

You’re not alone.
You don’t need to blow everything up.
But you can take one thoughtful step forward today.

👉 Book a complimentary coaching call and let’s figure out what’s next for the version of you that no longer fits in old roles.