You’re Not Behind. You’re Just Tired of Chasing.

There’s a quiet feeling I hear from professionals again and again.

It doesn’t usually come out directly. It shows up as a joke. Or a shrug. Or a half-confident, half-uneasy “Yeah, we’re using AI.”

But underneath it is something else:

“I feel like I’m always playing catch-up.”

Everyone seems to be talking about what’s next. AI. Agents. Automation. Prompting. Strategy. Futures.

LinkedIn is full of confidence. Conferences are full of certainty. And somehow, the expectation is that you’re supposed to be fluent already.

So you nod. You pick up the language. You fake it just enough to stay credible.

And privately, you wonder if you’re falling behind.

I Know That Feeling, Because I Lived It

Earlier in my career, I was deeply skeptical of the “next big thing.”

Every few years, there was something new that everyone had to adopt. Everywhere I worked, it felt like leadership was chasing the latest article, framework, or conference buzz.

I’d learn the terminology. I’d go through the motions. But it always took time for it to truly land.

And by the time it did, the world had already moved on to the next thing.

That cycle, catch up, stabilize, fall behind again, is exhausting.

Then I Became Part of the Next Big Thing

For me, that “next big thing” eventually became agile development.

I didn’t just observe it, I lived it.

Agile exploded. Organizations poured money into transformations. Coaches and consultants were in massive demand.

For a while, it felt like everyone was winning.

But then something shifted.

The hype gave way to disillusionment. Executives grew impatient. Agile became “just another thing that didn’t deliver.”

And what was left?

A lot of people who were told they were “transformed”…but didn’t actually have the skills to move forward.

We were so focused on transforming organizations, corporations, government agencies, systems, that we neglected something far more important:

The people who would have to live with those changes long after we were gone.

I’m Seeing the Same Pattern Again

AI feels different in scale, but not in shape.

Money is being spent hand over fist. The promises are enormous. The future is framed as inevitable, utopian, and urgent.

And once again, the conversation is dominated by tools, platforms, and strategy decks.

But I keep asking the same question:

Are the professionals who will live with AI for the rest of their careers actually being prepared to thrive?

Not executives alone. Not innovation teams. Not transformation offices.

Everyday professionals. Managers. Analysts. Leaders. Individual contributors.

The people expected to use this stuff, daily, responsibly, confidently, for decades.

I hope the answer is yes.

But if I’m honest?

It’s probably not.

If You Feel Behind, You’re Not Broken

If you feel like you’re faking it sometimes, that doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means the pace of change has outstripped the support people are being given.

This isn’t about being resistant. It’s not about being “bad with technology.” And it’s definitely not about intelligence.

It’s about being human in a system that keeps moving faster.

I don’t believe most professionals need more hype. Or more tools. Or another framework to memorize.

They need:

• Clear framing

• Practical skill-building

• Permission to say “I don’t know yet.”

• And space to build confidence without pretending

Why I’m Saying This Out Loud

I’m telling this story because I don’t want people to go through the same cycle again, excited, overwhelmed, disillusioned, then quietly left behind.

AI isn’t going away. It will be part of your professional life from here on out.

But you don’t have to chase it. You don’t have to fake it. And you don’t have to do it alone.

If any part of this felt uncomfortably familiar, that’s not an accident.

It’s just proof that you’re not the only one feeling this way.

And more importantly;

You’re not behind. You’re just ready for a better way forward.