Strengthening your sense of direction
Strengthening your sense of direction
Society has some pretty well-established life paths. The main template looks something like:
Go to school —> Get a job —> Partner up —> Buy a house —> Have kids —> Pay off your mortgage
In roughly that order.
Within many workplaces, there’s a similarly clear path laid out.
Start in this role —> Promotion —> Promotion —> Promotion —> Retire.
And while there’s been a shift towards greater flexibility in how people interpret and adopt this type of life or career path template, it’s still more common than not to follow some culturally-relevant version of it. This is especially true for those who identify as high-achievers.
It’s easy to fall into a trance-like, reactive state when you’re following the path so many before you have trodden and being applauded as you make progress.
It’s also a recipe for dissatisfaction.
I lived years of my life in a trance-like state. Mechanically moving from task to task, with my sights always set on the next promotion or the next physical challenge. Not really stopping to check in with how I was feeling, or to ask myself whether I truly wanted the things I was chasing.
If this is sounding familiar, here’s the good news: Living in a way that aligns with societal expectations is a natural step in our adult development - it helps us form our sense of identity and find our place in the world. It’s likely been critical to getting you to where you are in your life and career.
But it’s just a step in your developmental journey, not the endpoint. If you’re finding yourself moving through your life in a trance-like state, it may be the time to begin searching within yourself for a new direction.
In my observation, there are two things that signal it’s time to begin forging a new path:
An Inner Pull: You’ve been following a well trodden path, but something within you starts to feel off. A sense of restlessness emerges. You begin questioning the direction you’re going and the construct of your life or career overall.
A Life Event: A life event knocks you off the path. You fall ill, experience the sudden loss of a loved one, a key relationship ends, or you’re let go from your job.
In both cases, there can be a sense of disorientation. A feeling of being lost. You might find that what you thought made sense no longer makes sense. Your motivations might change. Or you might feel like you’re no longer sure of who you are.
It’s a painful, sometimes frightening, place to be, and you may find yourself scrambling to regain a sense of security. But this experience of disorientation creates an opening into possibility. The possibility that there might be a new path - one you’ll need to trust yourself to bravely forge.
This can be an incredibly potent time to pursue the support of a coach - someone who can help you tap into your inner wisdom.
There’s a place within us all that is unwavering - a place that feels calm and expansive. You’ve likely touched into this place within yourself when you’re in a moment of profound awe or gratitude. In this space, your mind is quiet and your senses are awake. You feel deeply connected.
You can consciously access this place by learning to slow down and quiet your mind, tuning into what’s present in the here-and-now. When you’re connected to this place, you can attune to the subtle signals of your body and experience deeper levels of clarity - this enables you to see your way forward.
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Your life and leadership journey are unique. Noone before you has ever impacted this earth in the way you will. Your unique combination of gifts, mixed with the challenges of our times, present an opportunity for you to create incredible impact within your circle of influence. This impact can ripple out to change the world.
If you’re feeling called to shift the path you’re currently on, now is the time to get clear on who you and and to envision what you want to create during your precious time on this earth.
But in order to do that, you must first learn to tune into your inner wisdom and build unshakeable trust in your sense of direction.
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If you’re at a crossroads, please check out my coaching offerings. We’ll work together over several months in a highly personalized way to deepen your presence, connect with purpose and elevate your impact.