I have found that I am in a pickle in my career where I have too much experience for a lot of positions, yet not quite enough to make the jump up to executive management. I'm stuck in senior management land until I find just the right fit...but my solution, which I think it going to help me make the jump, was to employ myself. I know that's not necessarily possible for everyone.

I think you may be in a similar situation though - where you are great at what you do, you do have a great resume, you probably interview well too, but maybe you are stuck in Goldilocks land where you're overqualified for many jobs but not quite experienced enough to jump up yet. A career counselor may be able to help you figure out either how to make that jump or how to reposition yourself.

It doesn't mean you are a failure or a loser. You're just at a point in your career where you start have to making some decisions. We only have to do that a few times in our entire career anyway, and with no clear choice in front of you, no wonder it feels so frustrating and difficult.

Regardless of what I'm going through right now with the struggle for finances, to bring in enough work (I'm moving ahead without a line of credit or a business loan at this point, and when I get kicked off of SSDI after reporting my earnings, if I don't hustle, I'm going to be in trouble), I keep reminding myself to have faith in myself. I've created this plan, the plan can work, and I just have to have faith in myself and my abilities.

I feel like you have lost faith in yourself and your abilities because of what one new manager said. When my new supervisor took over at my last job, she ended up letting me go pretty quickly, without getting to know me or my work abilities at all. (Granted, there were a whole host of problems with her.) I let that destroy me for nearly 6 months. Until I started to realize all the employers who had been happy with my work, all the clients who gave me stellar reviews, and all the people in my life who have told me how great I am to work with and how good I am at my job.

Make a list of all the times you've been praised, promoted, patted on the back, whatever, all your achievements. I think you will find it's a lot more than this one experience that you're going through right now. Have faith in yourself.

If you keep calling yourself a failure and a loser, that's exactly how you will continue to see yourself. You are none of those things.

Seesaw