What's Ripening in Your Career Right Now? (The Power of Patience)

You're already doing something right by noticing that your career development doesn't always show immediate results. Knowing that patience might be part of the process is more valuable than you might realize.

You're reading this in October, and we’re in harvest season. Farmers are out in the fields, gathering what they planted months ago. But here's what they're not doing: they're not yanking unripe crops out of the ground just to see how they're developing. They understand something really important that applies directly to your career journey.

You can’t rush ripeness.

What's Maturing Beneath the Surface

Here's what I want you to know about your career development: The most important growth is often invisible. It's happening underground, in the root system, in the foundation—and you won't see evidence of it for weeks or months.

Think about the work you've been doing this year. Maybe you've:

• Started setting clearer boundaries with your time

• Begun speaking up a little more in meetings

• Invested in learning a new skill

• Shifted how you respond to workplace stress

• Cultivated different professional relationships

This is your underground work. These are your developing roots. And right now, you might be tempted to pull them up to check if they're working.

What this means for your career is critical: Every time you yank up the carrot to examine it, you damage what's growing. Every time you question whether your new approach is working, you interrupt the ripening process.

The Wisdom of Natural Timing

Norwegian middle-distance runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen is one of the world's best. Olympic gold medalist. Multiple world records. And here's what he says about training:

"Many athletes want to test their fitness in training during peak seasons. We however have a different approach. We think of training as if we are farmers, and what we are harvesting are carrots. Many athletes want to pull the carrot out of the ground early to see what they have made, but in reality, once you test it, you can never put it back in. We won't pull the carrot out of the ground until race day, but trust that our preparation and experience will give us the best odds of success."

Read that again, but think about your own professional development.

Elite athletes understand something that translates perfectly to your professional life: timing matters more than urgency.

We’ve all been conditioned to expect—even demand—immediate results. Instant feedback. Quick wins. Rapid transformation. But meaningful career development doesn't work that way. It calls for seasons—periods of planting, growing, and patient waiting before the harvest appears.

This applies to your situation because the career shift you're making, the skills you're building, the confidence you're developing—they all need their season. They need time to ripen naturally without constant disruption.

Reflection Over Extraction

Here's the better approach: rather than constantly testing whether your efforts are working, pause to observe what's taking shape.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• What parts of my professional growth feel "almost ready" but need more time?

• What's quietly maturing that deserves patience, instead of pressure?

• Where am I demanding immediate proof when the work actually needs more seasoning?

The key is to shift from extraction—trying to pull results out prematurely—to reflection, noticing what's developing and trusting the process.

Your October Career Work: Trusting the Process

This month, your work isn't to force an early harvest. It's to see what's ripening. To acknowledge the underground growth. To trust that the boundaries you've set, the skills you've been building, the habits you've been forming—all of this is developing in its own time.

You can use this insight by giving yourself permission to let things mature. Stop checking constantly whether it's working. Stop questioning whether you're making progress. The carrot is growing. The roots are spreading. The harvest is preparing itself.

What would happen if you trusted the preparation instead of demanding immediate results?

Take ten minutes today to notice what's ripening in your career—what's quietly becoming ready in its own time. Reply and share one thing that's starting to bear fruit, even if it's not fully ready for harvest yet.

I’m Richard Taliaferro. I’m a certified career coach specializing in helping mid-stage professionals gain clarity on their career journey. I’ve written a guide on how to escape the work hamster wheel. Click here to download yours.