The Cost of Becoming the Next Version of You
I've spent the last ten years as a product designer across startups in a handful of different industries. With Daughters Studio, I've expanded into experience design, storytelling, and making sense of messy, ambiguous problem spaces. Throughout the years, there have been successes, mistakes, and endless lessons. These are the things that build up confidence to feel ready and take risks.
The Scenic Route of Getting From A to B in Your Career
Confidence in your career isn’t linear. Landing new roles, getting promoted, getting laid off, choosing to walk away from things that no longer serve you. This is what a modern career looks like, and this roller coaster ride teaches you something. The trick to is to roll with the punches, learn from them, and let that make you stronger rather than break you.
The other ingredient to feeling good about your career is curiosity. Career ladders aren't the only way to grow. There are only limited rungs and ceilings when you play by everyone else's rules. When you lead with curiosity and a hunger to keep learning, the possibilities are genuinely endless. The caveat: you have to know what your rules are.
Getting from A to B in your career is almost never a simple path. (Maybe it is and you’re one of the ones who only had to make one “stop”.) But for the rest of us, growth will take you from A to G, to U, to Z, and then B, your destination. And that’s completely okay and normal. No two personal or professional paths are the same.
What Growth Moments Actually Feel Like
Honestly? Growth moments rarely feel like growth moments when you're in the thick of them. Depending on the situation, they can feel extremely stressful or like you're on Cloud 9. Sometimes both. Growth moments can be positive or negative. It doesn't matter. What makes them growth moments is that you learned from them. And that clarity almost always comes in retrospect.
The same goes for readiness. When you're taking small steps, making mistakes, and getting back up knowing more than you did yesterday, you're building confidence at the same time. You may think you don't feel ready, but you're already doing it.
Why People Get Stuck
A big part of growing as a professional is on the individual, but the environment matters too. If your environment isn't conducive to taking risks or building confidence, that's worth acknowledging and evaluating.
Beyond that, there's the constant exposure to highlight reels. LinkedIn, Instagram—people posting wins and career milestones at a scale that technology has made impossible to escape. What we don't see is all the failure, the two-steps-back-one-step-forward moments that brought someone to their win. This is why I'm such a fan of people who build in public. It shows the real behind-the-scenes of what could one day become a success.
What Actually Helps
Know and believe that no one fully has it figured out. Carry that like a tiny beacon of light when you're scared to take a step forward. Everyone is just trying to figure it out and doing their best—a new grad and a Fortune 500 CEO alike. Their challenges look different, but the feeling of not being fully prepared is universal. So, focus on your own growth path. If you don't, who will?
When it comes to uncertainty specifically, stop trying to wriggle out of it. Ambiguity will be there whether you want it or not. Instead, ask yourself three questions:
What do I know?
What don't I know?
What do I need to find out to move at least one step forward?
That third list is the flashlight to lead the way. Rinse and repeat as you go.
The Cost of Becoming the Next Version of You
Confidence and growth come at a price—and that price is risk. If you want to grow, you have to do something differently than you normally would. That's the risk. If you’re not feeling even a little uncomfortable, the risk isn’t big enough. ;)
About Marie Libres
Marie Libres is a product designer and founder of Daughters Studio, where she works with early-stage teams to turn ambiguous ideas into clear, testable products. With a background in advertising and a self-driven pivot into tech, her work sits at the intersection of design, culture, and early-stage innovation. As a 2026 AdaMarie Expert, Marie leads conversations on navigating ambiguity, building with intention, and shaping careers that evolve through curiosity and action.
