A small text from an old friend

Today, an old friend texted me about her work progress in Deloitte. She told me she joined as a senior, but after almost two years, she still hasn’t been promoted. At one point, she was even benched for two months.

She mentioned most of her assignments are just small company audits and some assurance work. Never get the chance to lead big profile client. What hurt her the most was seeing her junior promoted to senior before her — someone who now doesn’t even reply to her messages.

As I read her text, I felt her frustration and disappointment. She kept blaming herself for not being able to deliver a “perfect” result, as if her entire self-worth depended on one promotion.

At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel grateful. A year ago, I almost considered Deloitte after leaving KPMG. If I had chosen that path, maybe I’d be in the exact same situation today — stuck, overlooked, and quietly unhappy.

Life really has a way of protecting us, even when we don’t realize it. Sometimes the paths we don’t take are the ones that save us from struggles we were never meant to endure.

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