Unfortunately, in your rush to action you inadvertently limit your success. If you act immediately, you are making decisions and choices based on your current understanding of the situation and yourself. Without any new wisdom or perspective, you’ll only see the options that you’ve always seen, and you’ll be more likely to repeat the patterns of your past.

To create more flow in your journey follow these guidelines.

1. When you notice a shift or a need to change something in your life. Start by sorting out what’s just happened. Think through the kinds of information you need at this time. Assess what options you have for getting some support and begin to sketch out your next steps. Rather than taking immediate action or making life-altering decisions, you are making sense of your situation in the moment so that you can set yourself up for what’s coming next.
2. Give yourself time to catch your breath. Times of change can be exhausting given all of the uncertainty and unknowns. Before turning your focus toward your path forward, give yourself the opportunity to refuel, slow down to rest, and get back in tune with yourself and your body. From this renewed place, you’ll be able to be more responsive, nimble, and authentic.
3. Start to connect with who you are becoming as a result of the shifts in your life. As you turn the page on a part of your life, give yourself time to reflect on who you are now, what you value, what interests you, and what you need to thrive. Even if you don’t have all or any of the answers, this reflective exploration will open up new questions, new solutions, and new directions for you. From this intuitive and creative place, you will see your situation in a whole new light. Explore the new array of options and possibilities to determine your best direction.

4. When you start a new phase of your life, there’s are new roles and responsibilities to figure out. Although you’ve been craving this new beginning, now that it’s here, it may feel more uncomfortable than you anticipated. It’s normal to feel both excited and nervous, energized and vulnerable. Trust the flow of your energy. When you feel uneasy, take a step back to refine what you intend to do next. When you feel confident, step out gently in the way that feels most comfortable to you. Over time, as you gain more experience, you’ll mature into your new roles with grace and ease.
5. Celebrate the changes you’ve made. Take a moment to look back at how far you’ve come since this shift in your life. Notice how you’ve grown, take note of your successes, and mark your progress. Be sure to celebrate your accomplishments and harvest the wisdom you’ve gained throughout this journey. Enjoy this time by being in the moment and savoring what you’ve created for yourself. Feel the expansiveness that comes with feeling vibrantly alive.

One way to track your progress is to keep a journal during each phase so that you can look back and notice what has changed. Honoring each phase of this journey, in order, allows you to create a strong foundation for your next step. By staying present in the moment, you start to notice small signs of momentum that will continue to grow organically with each step you take. 

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This can be a tricky time. You crave clarity – now! You want to be certain where you are headed, how long it is going to take to happen, and what you can do to get moving.

You may be tempted to grab the first solution you see to get your life back on track. Resist that urge. The first idea you find may not be the best idea.

Although you can’t force clarity to appear at your command, you can set yourself up to notice new clarity when it appears.

Steps you can take to create clarity:

1. Being in the limbo of not knowing is uncomfortable and unsettling. And yet, the fastest way to clarity is to surrender to not knowing in this moment. By being right where you are, you let go of your hold on the story that got you where you are today, and you naturally release your quest to nail down the new answer. Although making this choice feels strange in the face of your desire to figure things out sooner rather than later, it is this decision to surrender to not knowing right now that opens the door for future discoveries and insights.
2. If you are overwhelmed by a sense of confusion, focus on the details of your life that you do know. By making this mental shift, you minimize the amount of time you spend swirling in a fog of confusion. Turning your energy away from what you don’t want gives you the opportunity to claim the details that are currently clear to you. As more and more nuances come into clarity, the true parameters of your situation come into focus naturally. Often people will let out a big sigh when they shift their focus to what they do know.
3. You can’t force clarity to appear. As much as you’d like to make it happen, clarity emerges on its own timeline. Your job is to focus on creating an environment that is conducive to noticing new ideas when they appear. Practice creating spaciousness in your life by creating moments of being still, meditating, or being mindful. Open your heart and mind to the possibility of new opportunities. Enhance your ability to notice subtle signs of new insights. To strengthen this opportunity, make sure you surround yourself with new ideas and perspectives. Read new books, blogs, and articles, listen to podcasts, connect with new people, and take advantage of new experiences that cross your path. You never know when or where a spark of inspiration will reveal itself to you.
4. New sparks of insight may appear all at once or in a series of new thoughts. Don’t jump into action with your first idea. Make note of that first idea, and then notice what else comes to you. Often the best vision will weave together the threads of several ideas you’ve already had. Keeping a list of your ideas can help you connect the dots between the clues you already have in front of you. As this new multifaceted idea comes into focus, you’ll be ready and eager to move forward.
5. As you explore the possibilities associated with new ideas, follow the clues to see where they take you. Experiment with aspects of your idea to give yourself a real-life sense of how this new idea will feel if you follow this thread. If something feels off or strange, gather more information or rethink your idea. Don’t worry if this process takes a few tries. It’s normal to meander a bit as you discover the best way to move forward in your situation.Clarity isn’t just a mental exercise. When you have a powerful aha moment and land on an idea that feels right to you, you’ll feel it in the way you breathe, in the relief that you feel, the sense of confidence you experience, and the deep sense of commitment you have to your vision. As you implement this new direction with enthusiasm, give yourself permission to tweak the details as you gain new clarity along the way. 

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When you don’t have a vision of where you are headed or you don’t feel comfortable committing to the vision you’ve been holding, you naturally feel stuck.

Rather than waiting for your big vision to come into focus and inspire you, consciously focus on taking small steps to start creating a sense of momentum. Try a few of these inspired ways to get moving again.

1. Take the next step. Start by focusing on one task that you could do today. This action doesn’t need to be fully integrated into an overall plan. It doesn’t even need to be in the same area of your life. Just notice something – anything – that’s calling for your attention and do that. Checking something off your to-do list will remind you that you can get things done. This boost in your confidence will inspire you to do another item on your list.
2. Try an experiment. If you aren’t sure what will work, figure out a short experiment you could try. You might focus on adding a new behavior for a week, trying out a new strategy, or visiting a place you’ve never been. By committing to trying something new, you get to see how this new experience feels, which will give you good feedback about what works for you and what doesn’t. As you become more comfortable doing new things, you will find it is easier to step into the next phase of your life or career.  
3. Test the waters. When you are interested in something, but you don’t have enough confidence to commit for the long term, see if you can try something for a short time. Perhaps you can find a way to observe a situation rather than being fully involved. Imagine creative short-term ways you can get a feel for the scenario. When you have more information and more experience, it will likely be easier to make future decisions.
4. Talk with someone you trust. If you feel muddled about what to do next, reach out to someone you trust – a friend, family member, coach, or therapist – to talk it through. Some people find it is more effective to talk about a situation to find new solutions than thinking about it or writing about it. While you share your thoughts about what is happening for you, listen carefully for the new ideas and insights that appear during your conversation.
5. Take a smaller step. If you have a sense of what you “should” do next, but you aren’t taking steps in that direction, back off a bit. Carve out a smaller task to focus on. It’s okay if that task feels detached from your bigger goal. At this point, it’s better to create some new movement in your life than to remain stuck.
   
6. Do some research. When you can’t make a decision about how to move forward, it’s possible you don’t have enough information to make a sound decision. Instead, do some research to expand what you know. Reach out to discover how other people are approaching similar situations. Watch a video, listen to a related podcast, read a blog post, or do a web search. With new information, you’ll likely gain more insight about viable next steps you are willing to take.

The key to finding your path forward is to do something. Don’t let yourself get bogged down in trying to work out all the details of your vision before you start. It’s possible you need to take some preliminary steps before full clarity will come into focus.

With each new step you take, you build in a sense of forward momentum, you open up new opportunities that you weren’t aware of before, and you welcome in new insights. Each step you take will help you see your situation from an entirely new perspective. Over time, based on your new experiences, insights, and ideas, your path forward will come into focus in more detail.

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