I'm guessing there's a very good chance that, in your career you're not quite "yourself." You've got a lot of things you do to get through the day, a lot you put up with, a lot you do or don't do that you dislike. My guess is you do these things to protect the "real you."
You know what I'm talking about. You're not taking that initiative at work because you don't want to make waves. You're not relocating to that place you want because it takes too long to plan. You're not taking that class you want to take because you want to be in the "right frame of mind." You don't speak your mind to people because people won't get the real you.
Know what? You've got a Fake You defending the Real You. You're probably busy protecting the Real You right now so some day that Real You can get out and do its things. Except you've got it backwards.
The Fake You is NOT strong. The Fake You is weak, vacillating, and powerless. The Fake You exists because you don't trust the Real You. The Fake You is built on a false foundation.
The Fake You is thin, false, and shallow. The Fake You is an armor of paper against the world – my guess is that it doesn't work that well anyway.
The Fake You isn't going to go the distance because it has no foundation – it's based on fear and regret and probably some self-loathing. It probably cracks and breaks and fails quite often – so it doesn't do the job you intended it for.
It's time to give up on the Fake You. It didn't work, it isn't working, and it won't work. It's just you not trusting yourself and building a facade to protect who you really are, and that facade, that false you is based on not being who you are.
The Fake You is also around forever if you're not careful. It will never be the perfect time for the Real You to come out because perfect is an illusion. You'll be stuck forever behind the Fake You.
Your real strength? The Real You. The real skills, desires, personality, and abilities. That's the source of your power, your creativity, your energies. The very thing you built a facade to protect is far stronger than the facade.
So start working to help the Real You get out there, connect with the world, assert itself, and get active. The Real You is the fuel for everything you do, your passion, your power, your strength.
The Fake You was never going to work anyway.