The tradeoff in every career

Here it is: You can have control or you can have certainty. Figure out which you value, and know that the more of one you experience, the less of the other you’re likely to have.

When you have control, you’re completely responsible — for choosing the direction, bringing in the money, and ensuring the future of the work. That brings some degree of uncertainty. You’re on the hook for those things.

When you have certainty — of which direction to go, or that your paycheck will come on time twice a month, or that the work will be here in the future so you can keep your job — that means you’ve given up some degree of control. Someone else is on the hook for ensuring some or all of those things. You play a part, but as is the case inside a large organization, if you don’t deliver, the company doesn’t just fold. That’s because you aren’t completely responsible. There’s nothing at all wrong with that — just know the tradeoff that comes with it: you also aren’t in complete control.

The direction of the work + The predictability of the money + The future of the work, the company, the job.

If you want more control, know that things will feel less certain. If you want more certainty, know that you’re less in control.

Control and certainty: Which one do you value more? Ensure you know, and then make career choices accordingly. Just embrace the tradeoff you’re making. Unhappiness and decision paralysis affect us when we seek them both together.

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