The question behind WorkDecoded
Why did I keep ending up in jobs that looked different on paper but felt the same after a while?
I tried so many different jobs and started so many businesses, but never felt like I succeeded in anything.
I realised I wasn't repeating careers. I was repeating patterns.
I spent years doing different things, always ending up in the same situations.
A closer look
I began analysing the patterns.
After realising this, I spent months analysing my patterns. I asked myself questions like:
- Why do I thrive initially but eventually feel trapped?
- Is this burnout?
- Am I choosing the wrong jobs?
- Am I the problem?
- What actually makes work sustainable?
I needed better explanations.
I discovered that I didn't need another career plan. I needed a better way of understanding why I kept making the same decisions in different environments.
I eventually decided to study Psychology, specialising in Industrial and Organisational Psychology, the psychology of work and organisations. I wasn't looking for another qualification; I was looking for better explanations. I wanted to understand whether the patterns I had experienced could be explained systematically rather than dismissed as “bad luck” or a lack of resilience.
Oh, how I hated the idea of lacking resilience. It felt like it, but somewhere I knew it wasn't that.
The first version
A reflection tool became a framework.
I started writing a reflection tool. The first version of the framework was something I built to make sense of my own career decisions. As it became more structured, I realised other people could use the same process to recognise patterns in their own careers.
Today, WorkDecoded is my attempt to share that framework with others. Not to tell people which career they should choose, but to help them recognise the patterns behind their choices, define what good work actually looks like for them, and make future decisions with more clarity and less guesswork.
A place to begin
Start with the pattern that feels most familiar.
The free Career Pattern Diagnostic offers a focused starting point for examining the patterns shaping your work experience.
Start the free diagnostic