Your boss wants you to learn SQL.
Not because SQL is going to change your life. Not because it's the missing piece between you and the career you actually want. Because it makes their life easier if you can pull your own data instead of asking an analyst.
So you nod. You sign up for the course. You spend your evenings watching some guy named Kevin explain JOINs on YouTube while your actual ambitions collect dust in a notebook you haven't opened in weeks.
Dance, monkey, dance.
This is what high performers do. Someone in a position of authority points and you jump. Not because it matters. Because jumping is what got you here. You've been trained since childhood to exceed expectations. Get the A. Win the award. Impress the teacher. Impress the boss. Impress the next boss.
Nobody ever taught you to ask: whose expectations are these? And do I actually give a shit about meeting them?