5 Steps To Figure Out Your Next Move

You’re working on your self-development. Things are going pretty well until you hit a wall. Now you don’t know what to do.

We’ve all been there, directionless and rudderless. The truth is you won’t always know what your next step should be. It’s ok if you need to figure out your next step.

It could be you have hit your professional goals and are ready to make changes. But you are not sure what to aim for next. I once thought my career was destined to be in fashion. I worked for a fashion house, started my own fashion line, was a stylist at a major record label, and was a costume mistress for a large theater. As proud as I am of those accomplishments, I hit a point where I reached the end of that road.

Maybe you’re ready to make a change in some part of your personal life like taking control of your finances but it scares you. Or perhaps you’re stuck trying to figure out what your purpose is now that your kids are grown.

Any of these scenarios and thousands of others can put the brakes on our self-growth.

5 Steps to Find Your Direction

Step 1: Be at peace with where you are right now

It’s easy to beat yourself up for past decisions that got you where you are. This keeps you stuck where you are, especially if you think any new decisions are going to be the wrong ones. This is often your ego telling you that taking that step is too scary and you will fail.

Life is about learning and growing. That’s what making choices means. Every one of them has been a learning lesson. Recognize the lessons learned and then give yourself permission to be at peace with the past. Then do the work to move forward by making a decision.

Step 2: Clear the clutter from your mind

The thing that can keep you from making a decision or knowing what to do next can be from having too much-jumbled stuff going on in your mind. You probably have hundreds of things going on in your brain that all seem to need attention. This keeps you from thinking clearly.

One way to deal with all these thoughts is to do what is called a brain dump. You need to clear your mind before you attempt to make any kind of decision. Put everything that’s floating around in your brain down on a piece of paper. Don’t overthink. Just write.

Step 3: Get clarity on every area of life

Take your brain dump and make four lists: What you’re good at, what you enjoy, what doesn’t feel right or work now, and what needs you see that you can fulfill. Put all those thoughts into one of the categories and see where there is overlap between them. This can help you get clarity on what direction to go.

Step 4: Determine where to start

Now that you can see where you want to go, you can get clarity on what you want your life to look like and begin mapping out the steps to get there. If you don’t know where to start, do some research. For example, maybe you’ve come to the decision you want to turn your crocheting hobby into a business but have no idea where to start. Begin by talking to others who own their own business. Ask how they got started.

Step 5: Just begin

Start small and implement a little each day. Who can you ask? What habit do you need to start? Where can you find more information? Take it one small step at a time and before you know it you’re where you want to be.

Not knowing what else we want to do or the next phase we want to be in can be scary, especially after we’ve been working on changes already. These 5 steps might sound too simple, but they have a big impact on giving you an answer. Go ahead and give them a try.

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