Failure is loud.
Deadlines missed. Reviews go poorly. A role ends abruptly.
Drift is quiet.
You are still employed. Still competent. Still trusted. Nothing is visibly broken.
That is why drift is more dangerous.
Most careers do not collapse. They narrow.
Scope reduces without anyone naming it.
Influence contracts without anyone announcing it.
Your work becomes predictable.
Your judgment stops being tested.
You are still “doing well.”
That phrase hides a lot.
Doing well can mean:
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You are not causing problems.
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You are reliable inside known constraints.
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You are optimized for the current system.
It does not mean you are growing.
Drift happens when the system stops demanding more of you and you stop demanding more of yourself.
It feels calm.
It feels stable.
It feels earned.
But it quietly changes your leverage.
When opportunity appears, the people chosen are rarely the most comfortable. They are the most expandable.
Expandable people have recent evidence of stretch.
If you feel steady but slightly under-challenged, that is not a mood problem. It is information.
Ask:
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Where have I stopped being stretched?
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What skill has not been under pressure lately?
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What conversation am I no longer invited into?
Drift rarely announces itself.
It simply waits.