Leverage Maps #27: The Cost Of Compound Drag In Your Career

You may not be advancing in your career because of the areas of your life that you are neglecting. It might not be your professional skills, but it could be Compound Drag.

Compound drag happens when problems in one area of your life holds back growth and stability in other areas of your life. It's the financial stress that makes you anxious enough to not take creative risks at work. It's the poor health that leaves you fatigued enough to not learn new skills. It's the relationship issues that distract your attention during important meetings.

Consider a person without an emergency fund that faces chronic, low levels of stress about their finances. When their car breaks down, it's not just lost money. It's lost weeks of focus, momentum, and opportunity. Meanwhile, someone with sufficient savings can handle the emergency with dampened effects and reduced slowdowns on their professional development. The takeaway is to focus on building basic stability across your foundational life areas:

• Financial security
• Physical and mental health
• Relationships, family, and social connections
• Core work responsibilities

Once you have a solid foundation to progress from, it becomes much easier to compound your growth in higher-order skills and progress toward your goals. But building and maintaining a solid foundation requires an element of self-honesty with introspective questions. What chronic stress or instability is quietly sabotaging your professional growth? What area of your life needs stability before you can truly accelerate your career growth? Where can I put my energy in for the biggest bang for my buck?