Two Habits That Look Risky but Can Accelerate a Career

Most standard career guidance treats caution as the default: keep to the course, gather all information, and do not move until you are certain. But psychologists argue that two habits that look imprudent are often what separate people who build interesting careers from those who stall.

The first is leaving things that still work. The usual picture of quitting is ending something that has already failed, but the researchers point to a 2018 Academy of Management Annals study on “escalation of commitment”: people continue a path precisely because they have already invested heavily in it. Staying in an acceptable job, project or situation then becomes the automatic choice, even though each year spent sustaining “good enough” is a year not spent learning whether a better alternative exists.

The second is committing before feeling ready. A 2017 Journal of Counseling Psychology meta-analysis on self-efficacy indicates that confidence is built through mastery experiences, not before them. A separate 2023 Journal of Vocational Behavior meta-analysis found people enter “flow” more easily when a task slightly exceeds their current ability.

The common thread is refusing to let short-term comfort determine long-term consequences. The hidden cost of avoiding every mistake can masquerade as patience, loyalty or discipline, accumulating quietly until too late.

Advertisement

The Psychology Behind Quitting Early and Acting Unready

Escalation of Commitment as a Career Trap

The 2018 research describes a mismatch between common sense and behavior: people treat sunk costs as a reason to continue. In career terms, years of service begin to work as an argument for more years, even when the investment cannot be recovered. The real cost is not a visible loss but a narrowing of future options.

Exploration Versus Exploitation

A 2023 Frontiers in Psychology study suggests the same tension shapes real decisions by organizational leaders. Exploiting a known good option appears rational at every moment, which is exactly why people overuse it. What is never recorded is the alternative that was not tested.

Self-Efficacy in the Wrong Order

The second habit reverses the usual learning sequence. The cited research consistently points to mastery experiences as the source of confidence, meaning people who wait to feel ready are waiting for a reward that only appears after attempting the task. The key boundary is not avoiding risk but choosing small, recoverable moves rather than one career-ending gamble.

Small Recoverable Moves to Apply the Two Habits

For a professional deciding whether to leave a comfortable role or accept a hard challenge, the research suggests four practical filters:

  • Before staying, list what you have not tested. If your main reason is years already invested, you may be in escalation of commitment, not a genuine choice.
  • Leave while the role still works. The researchers say people who exit functional situations do so when they still have energy, alternatives and goodwill — which lowers the personal cost.
  • Choose challenges that stretch your current ability only slightly. The flow evidence supports a moderate gap: enough for visible progress, not so large it becomes a threat.
  • Act before confidence appears. Treat confidence as the result of the attempt, not a condition for starting.