The 3 Choices That Keep You Stuck (Even If You’re a High-Achiever)

For those of us committed to walking in faith and our God-given calling…not just building impressive lives…“success” can become a subtle trap, especially when it’s no longer aligned with where the Lord is trying to take us next.

If you’re a believer who’s been successful by every external standard, yet quietly sensing God shifting something on the inside…this one’s written with you in mind.

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Success leaves clues.”

Well…success also has a way of deceiving us.

On the outside, it looks like momentum, power moves, and shiny milestones.

On the inside, it can feel like a quiet…erosion. The kind you don’t dare admit out loud because success is supposed to feel good, right?

But here’s what most high-achievers don’t talk about…

They’re stuck.

They’re not stuck because they’re incapable of change.

They’re stuck because they keep choosing what looks like success over what’s truly aligned with who they are.

I’m seeing this “I admit” in guru emails lately, and hearing it in conversations with my clients.

If you’ve been feeling a growing tension…succeeding and draining at the same time…it’s not a sign that you’re failing. It’s a sign you’re wearing down in your current level of alignment. Or…misalignment.

Here are three choices that often keep us stuck...

...even if everything on paper says, “you’re winning.”

CHOICE #1: Keeping what’s working…even if it’s depleting you.

Myth: “If it’s working, don’t change it.”
Truth: Just because something produces results doesn’t mean it produces life.

High-achievers are loyal to systems that produce.

You’re trained to double down on what works. The problem? “What works” can become a prison if who you are begins to shift.

That offer that once lit you up…
that leadership role you’ve carried with pride…
that schedule you once prayed for…

All of it can become misaligned when God begins challenging your identity, stretching your purpose, or calling you into a new expression of your gifts and talents.

And if you keep measuring success by outer metrics: revenue, reach, recognition…you may ignore some critical metrics: your internal compass and joy.

Feeling drained or unfulfilled isn’t always a logistics issue. Yeah. Sometimes it’s a misalignment issue.

Shift it: Look through a new lens. One that brings into clarity and measures peace, vitality, clarity, and congruence with who you are, AND who you’re becoming…not just what you’re producing. Honor the season you’re in, not the metrics someone else thinks matter.

CHOICE #2: Wearing persistence like a badge…even when God’s prompting a pivot.

Myth: “Pushing through is strength.”
Truth: Staying the course longer than you’re called to, is often stubbornness in disguise.

I totally understand. You didn’t get here without resilience. You’ve made a life out of showing up when others tapped out.

But many times, high-achievers confuse a season of grace with a lifelong assignment. Yes. And end up carrying something God tried to transition them out of months (or years) ago.

I get it. We love finishing what we start. It feels honorable. It feels strong.

But obedience sometimes looks like laying it down unfinished…because God has a plan, and sometimes that can be shifting the assignment.

There’s a moment in every leader’s life when persistence becomes resistance. Resistance to new instructions, new direction, and new growth.

So…if you’re finding yourself exhausted no matter how rested you are, it’s worth asking:

“Am I pushing past when God told me to pivot?”

Shift it: Redefine strength as sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. Strength is not always moving forward the way we think. It’s having the wisdom (and humility) to course-correct on cue. When the grace or season is lifted…follow the call, not the calendar.

CHOICE #3: Protecting momentum…even when it’s headed in the wrong direction.

Myth: “If you slow down or shift lanes, you’ll lose momentum.”
Truth: Momentum in the wrong direction is just accelerated misalignment.

One of the worst fears for a high-achiever is losing “ground.”

You worked too hard, invested too much time, energy, and money…sacrificed too much sleep to start over.

But misaligned momentum strips you quietly. It keeps you moving, alright…just not toward what matters most.

It makes you defend systems you don’t even want anymore. Ouch.
It keeps you repeating patterns that no longer serve your current season. Or the next.
It has you scanning for “opportunities” that are actually distractions dressed up in your favorite colors of what you think fulfillment is.

Momentum is powerful. But…but only when it’s pointed toward and on purpose.

Otherwise, it becomes like what you do NOT want while on the highway. Motion sickness. You’re moving fast, but feeling worse by the minute.

Shift it: Choose Spirit-led movement over surface-level momentum. Be willing to pause, prune, re-prioritize. Alignment before acceleration. Always.

The Bottom Line:

Your evolution doesn’t mean your past success was wrong. But it does mean your future requires new choices.

High-achievers don’t stay stuck because they’re incapable of change.

They stay stuck because they keep maintaining momentum around things God is trying to evolve or strip away.
They stay stuck because they overlook the fact that truth drives identity, identity drives alignment, and alignment drives authentic momentum.

So, consider this truth-in-love nudge your permission slip: