Lucy felt hollow and dissatisfied. She was a star performer and had just helped her team clinch a large government deal that they had been working on for months. At the celebration that evening, Lucy was forced to put on a smile and a dynamic front. She had good relationships with her team members and would describe her relationship with her boss as positive, though she had a sense of dissatisfaction—like feeling half-full after a meal.

Lucy’s conclusion was that it was time for her to move on. She brushed up her CV and started speaking to recruiters, believing, or rather hoping, that a new job would evict this sense of hollowness and dissatisfaction. After a couple of conversations, Lucy realized that she was unable to convincingly articulate what it was that would excite her.

Like Lucy, many of us would lean toward changing our external environment as a panacea for the dissatisfaction or struggles we face in our work, relationship, or career. Without deep and accurate introspection, this often results in temporary relief, with the underlying currents rising up once again in the new environment.

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