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Aakarsh's avatar

Great article. Very thought provoking. The illustration on flow state is the simplest one I have seen till date. And it prompted me to think deeply about many aspects you highlighted here. Thanks for writing such a nice piece.

Ravi Mehta's avatar

You are very welcome, Aakarsh. I'm glad it resonated. The idea of flow has always stuck with me... especially the simpler version that Csikszentmihalyi wrote about originally (the perfect middle path between anxiety and boredom).

Aakarsh's avatar

Yes. The original one is a great concept too. And applying the same to the context of our work/jobs in this manner is spot on.

Tom Dausy's avatar

Thanks for this thoughtful piece, Ravi. I really love the “career escalator” metaphor—it captures the reality of growth so well. It’s a great reminder to check whether the system is helping or quietly holding us back.

Ravi Mehta's avatar

Absolutely… it’s also a good reminder not to put the entire responsibility on ourselves. There are countless stories of really successful people struggling in certain roles.

Shailendra's avatar

Great post with practical guidance. Thank you for distilling years of career wisdom into a 5 minute read.

Ravi Mehta's avatar

Thank you for the feedback Shailendra... glad you found it valuable!

Ajit Ramachandran's avatar

Great piece Ravi - thank you. It validated my recent decision to step off the wrong escalator!

Mike Alcazaren's avatar

Such serendipitous timing having this hit my inbox today. I'm at my last week of paternity leave and at an inflection point with my career. Really love this framework and I need to step off the escalator.

Ravi Mehta's avatar

Mike, I'm so glad it arrived at the right time and you find it helpful. Wishing you lots of success with your next steps!