“Gratitude” Is Keeping You Trapped

When over-functioning gets disguised as humility—and your dreams keep shrinking in the name of being thankful.

Let’s talk about one of the quietest traps I’ve been caught in and have seen in high-achieving professionals:

Gratitude.

Not the real kind—rooted in presence, self-trust, and joy.
But the performative kind. The "I should just be thankful" kind.

It sounds like:

“I mean… I have a stable job.”
“It’s not toxic.”
“They treat me well.”
“I should be grateful—it could be worse.”

And yes, those things can be true.
But here’s the catch:

When you use gratitude to silence your deeper dissatisfaction, it’s not emotional maturity. It’s entrapment.

What you’re actually saying is:

• “I’m not allowed to want more.”

• “Other people would kill for this role, so I should settle.”

• “If I leave, I might regret it—and lose everything.”

But here's the truth you're afraid to say out loud:

You can be grateful for what your job gave you…and still outgrow it.

Gratitude doesn’t mean you stay in the wrong role out of guilt.
It means you honor what it offered—and know when it’s time to leave.

If you’re starting to feel the quiet ache of stagnation—despite “having it good”, you’re not being ungrateful.
You’re being honest and that is where real alignment begins.

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Ready to explore what gratitude might be covering up?

The next section includes reflection prompts and a coaching tool to help you break free from the guilt-gratitude loop.

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