Why So Many Capable People Feel Stuck

There is a specific type of torture reserved for the capable.

7 min read

5 hours ago

It isn’t the struggle of not knowing what to do; it is the struggle of knowing exactly what you could do, but finding yourself unable to move.

It is the quiet, gnawing feeling that you are wasting your potential. You know you are smart. You know you have skills. You look around and see people with half your talent achieving double your results. You see former classmates or colleagues who were “average” suddenly overtaking you, launching businesses, publishing books, or taking executive roles, while you sit in the same chair you occupied three years ago.

You aren’t lazy. In fact, your brain is constantly running at 100mph. You are planning, analyzing, and strategizing. You consume podcasts on productivity. You read books on business. You have a Notes app filled with brilliant ideas.

But physically? You are standing still.

You are a Ferrari in a garage, revving the engine until it overheats, but never putting it in gear. The engine noise is loud, the fuel is burning, but the distance traveled is zero.

This phenomenon is incredibly common among high achievers. It turns out that intelligence and capability — if not managed correctly — can become a prison…