3 powerful keys to finding new direction in your life

A number of my recent clients have wanted to make a change at work or at home - they have been looking for a new direction, a sense of purpose in their lives. For some people there is a feeling that something is missing, for others it’s about finding out what’s important to them. I really admire these people because some of us may also have similar feelings but never do anything about it. We can get very comfortable in our lives even if we are not happy with our lot. I take my hat off those who actually say that enough is enough and seek to make the changes they want.

Wanting to make a change is a good start, but there are a few things that can really push the situation along. It is a good idea to start with our inner thoughts, our self limiting beliefs. What we think is often what we do, so if we think that we cannot make that change, guess what? We are more likely to stay where we are. However, if we think that we can make the change and can see ourselves in that new role, job, relationship or whatever it is that we want to change, we are half way there. Henry Ford once said “If you think you can or you think you can’t, you're right”.

Here are a few simple ideas to help you make your ideas a reality.

Set a few simple goals

Setting a few simple goals can make all the difference in achieving what you want. In Stephen Covey's book, the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he calls this the habit of personal leadership. Begin with the end in mind, leading yourself towards your goal.

By developing the habit of concentrating on relevant activities, you will build a platform to avoid distractions and become more productive and successful. Ask yourself what do you want to achieve, where do you want to go and when do you want to have done it by? How do we know where we are going if we don’t have an end point in mind? Most of us would not set out on a journey without knowing where we are going and how we are going to get there. It’s the same in life having a goal, something that we want to achieve and working out how we are going to achieve the goals can make all the difference.

Develop a vision board

Reinforce your goals with a visual presentation of what you want to achieve. Get creative with your goals and pull them all together in a visual board or scrap book to help inspire you to achieve your goals. A vision board is a poster board on which you paste image or words that you have collected from various magazines, the internet or created yourself to represent your goals.

The idea behind this is that when you surround yourself with images of what you want to achieve, the relationships you want to have, where you want to live, or what job you want to have - you have made the first step towards your goal. This together with your written goals and your journal can really help to focus on what you want to bring into your life.

Keep a journal

This can be a file on your computer, on your phone or a written journal, use whatever suits you best. By simply writing down your thoughts and feelings about the situation you find yourself in or what it is that you want to change you can start to feel better about your situation and gain clarity. 

Perhaps even start to form a few simple steps to help your situation and focus on your goal. This works for both your home and work life. So, if you have a problem at work (perhaps you don’t feel as motivated as you use to, or you want to change your job but don’t know where to start), keeping a journal could really help you to gain a greater understanding of your situation and what you might like to do about the issues facing you. It can also help you to reflect on your situation, to make some sense of what is happening and to help you to clarify your thoughts about what you want.

If you put all three of these strategies together it is a very powerful way to unlock your potential and enable you to make the changes that you want to achieve. If you would like more information about making some changes in your life or at work I invite you to get in touch via email or telephone.