The short answer
Feeling alone in your career often comes from being underrepresented — not from a flaw in you. Research shows that having even one matched mentor and a sense of belonging can shift how capable and confident you feel. Your next move is to find one real human who has walked a path close to yours.
You're not imagining the isolation. Research on underrepresented people in professional fields shows that belonging — feeling like you actually fit in a space — is one of the biggest factors in whether someone stays, grows, and believes they can succeed. When you don't see yourself reflected around you, your brain quietly starts to question whether you belong there at all. That's not a personal failure. It's a predictable response to a real gap in your environment.
Marcus Aurelius wrote about focusing on the instrument at hand — the tool right in front of you. Right now, your instrument isn't a grand career plan. It's one honest conversation. Research points to matched mentors — people who share some part of your identity or background — as especially powerful for people who feel underrepresented. Not because they have magic answers, but because they make the path feel real and walkable.
This week, find one person — in your field or close to it — who shares something of your story. A professional association, an online community, a LinkedIn search. Don't ask for a mentor right away. Just ask for a fifteen-minute conversation about how they got started. That's it. One conversation can break the isolation faster than any amount of planning alone.