During any life change or career transition, you may have periods when you struggle to see a way to move forward. Even though you feel inspired to step forward, you just can’t get started.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.