But When Will You?
- Faiz Faisal
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Lately, I’ve been sitting with a question that keeps replaying in my head:
“When is my turn?”
And honestly, being halfway through my 30s is such a weird place to be. One day, I’m excited about life, dreaming big, planning ahead, believing that better things are coming. Then suddenly, another thought creeps in:
“Until when?”
Until when do I keep waiting?
Until when do I keep rebuilding?
Until when do I keep starting over?
I try my best to stay positive because I know life isn’t a race. I know everyone moves at different speeds. But even with all that understanding, the question still lingers quietly in the background.
When is my turn?
The Frustration of Starting Over
I think what makes it harder is the fact that I’ve already experienced success before.
This isn’t the same as someone chasing something they’ve never had. I’ve tasted it. I know what it feels like to be stable, motivated, fulfilled, and confident in my career. Which is why having to rebuild from scratch again feels so frustrating.
When you know what’s possible, waiting becomes harder.
You become impatient—not because you’re ungrateful, but because you know what you’re capable of. And having to slowly climb back up after falling down can feel emotionally exhausting.
The Pressure to Wear Every Hat
A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with the management at my workplace. They asked if I was willing to pick up another skill because it was “required” for the job.
And honestly? I told them no.
Not in a rude way. I explained that when I first entered this industry, I did learn everything I could. I explored different roles, experimented with different skills, and tried wearing multiple hats because I was young, hungry, and still figuring out what I liked.
But after working for almost 10 years, I finally know what I enjoy doing and what I’m actually good at.
And the skill they wanted me to learn?
It simply wasn’t something I was interested in.
So now I’m left wondering:
Does that make me a bad employee?
Or even a bad person?
Upskilling vs Forced Multitasking
Don’t get me wrong—I believe upskilling is important. Learning new things is always good. But I also think there’s a difference between wanting to grow and being forced to carry responsibilities outside your role because companies don’t want to hire enough people.
The job market nowadays is honestly exhausting.
Companies are trying to run entire departments with as few people as possible. Everyone is expected to wear multiple hats, juggle endless responsibilities, and somehow still perform perfectly.
And because people are desperate for jobs, they accept it.
Which then creates this dangerous cycle:
One person does everything just to survive, and suddenly companies start expecting everyone else to do the same.
But what people don’t see is this:
Most of those employees aren’t happy. They’re burnt out. They’re overwhelmed. They’re doing it for survival, not passion.
Let People Specialise
Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I genuinely think we need to stop glorifying the idea of doing everything.
Not everyone needs to be a designer, marketer, editor, strategist, photographer, copywriter, and videographer all at once.
Let graphic design graduates be graphic designers.
Let marketing graduates focus on marketing.
Let videographers shoot videos.
Let writers write.
Distinct roles create opportunities for more people to work, grow, and specialise in what they actually love doing.
And maybe, just maybe, people would be less burnt out too.
Final Thoughts
I don’t know when my turn will come again. I really don’t.
But I do know this:
I’m tired of pretending that overworking yourself and wearing ten different hats is some kind of success story. Sometimes it’s just survival dressed up as ambition.
So for now, I’ll keep trying to rebuild my life in a way that feels sustainable. Slowly. Honestly. One step at a time.
And hopefully one day, I’ll look back at this phase and realise that maybe my turn was never late.
Maybe it was just taking its time.
Comments