If you take a proper retrospection of this past year, you’ll notice that most of your actions weren’t random. They were subtly shaped by forces you could see… and many you couldn’t.
In a dynamic, high-pressure environment like ours, it’s easy to mistake activity for alignment. We think because we are moving fast, we are heading in the right direction. But the hard truth is that most of us were trained into a direction we never consciously chose.
The psychologist Carl Jung famously said:
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
If you don’t know what’s driving you, it will still drive you—just not to the destination you had in mind. It’s like trying to teach someone how to drive in a Lagos traffic jam; you might find yourself heading somewhere you definitely didn’t plan to go.
Let’s get practical. Most professionals are running on one of these five drivers. Which one is currently in your driver’s seat?
Fear is an excellent short-term driver but a terrible long-term fuel.
How it looks: Fear of being poor, fear of being “ordinary,” or the fear of disappointing those who invested in you.
The Cost: It pushes you, but it never fulfills you. It keeps you in a state of “Survival Mode” where you can’t see the big picture because you’re too busy dodging the next imaginary disaster.
This is the “African Home” default setting.
How it looks: Living your life to avoid someone else’s judgment—parents, culture, or even a version of yourself you’ve outgrown. It’s the pressure to “make a name” or achieve what others haven’t.
The Cost: You end up achieving goals you don’t even want anymore. You climb the ladder, only to find it was leaning against the wrong wall.
How it looks: “My friend just got this, I need to get mine.” We were wired from childhood to use other people’s children as a benchmark.
The Cost: Trying to “catch up” or “show them” turns your career into a race with no finish line. You can win the race and still feel like you’re losing because the benchmark is always moving.
How it looks: The urge to present a polished, “figured-out” image on social media while struggling behind the scenes. It’s the “Fake it till you make it” trap.
The Cost: It quietly drains the soul. Peer validation is a drug; the more you get, the more you need to feel “successful.”
How it looks: This is the rarest driver. Purpose-driven people seem calm even when they are intensely ambitious. Their drive comes from alignment, not anxiety.
The Cost: None. Purpose is the only driver that expands you while you work.
Be honest with yourself. Look at your 2026 goals.
If you’re chasing a promotion, is it because you want the impact (Purpose) or because you’re afraid of being “behind” your peers (Competition)?
If you’re starting a side hustle, is it to solve a problem (Purpose) or because you’re terrified of the economy (Fear)?
Fear and pressure can make you look successful from the outside. You can be the high performer, the busiest person in the room, and the one always “achieving.” But internally? You’ll be exhausted, unsettled, and never satisfied.
Sustainable success is not about how fast you’re going; it’s about what is fueling the journey.
The first four drivers will exhaust you. Purpose is the only one that will sustain you.
Purpose isn’t a grand, once-in-a-lifetime discovery; it’s a daily alignment. It grows where your curiosity and your compassion meet. If you want a 2026 that doesn’t leave you burnt out by March, you need to flip your focus from “What do I want to achieve?” to “Who am I becoming in the process?”
Outcomes fluctuate. Identity compounds.
On January 17th, at 4 PM, we are going to move from “Default Settings” to “Designed GamePlan”.
At the Purpose + Profession 2026 GamePlan Webinar, we will help you identify your specific purpose-driver so you can stop running on stress and start running on energy.
Don’t let invisible forces drive you into another year of unfulfillment.
Build with depth. Grow with clarity.
An op-ed by
– Oluwatobi Adekunle.
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Originally published on Substack — https://purposeandprofession.substack.com/p/who-is-actually-steering-your-2026
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