How to Get Clear on Your Next Big Move
Making changes in your life can feel exciting, motivating and thrilling as you start working towards big goals and stepping into new life changes. They can also stir up feelings of uncertainty, self-doubt and fear.
Leveling up and making big moves in your personal life, career, lifestyle, relationships, finances or any other aspect of your life means that you're going to face new challenges and sometimes a few limiting beliefs—and that's OK—part of leaving your comfort zone means you're learning and growing and that might feel uncomfortable or unfamiliar.
When negative self-perceptions or thoughts start creeping in, you can reflect on five key areas to help you achieve mental clarity, steer yourself toward meaningful action and maintain your confidence while working towards your big dreams and goals.
Reflect on Your Core Values and Beliefs
Set aside 20-30 minutes to journal or meditate on this topic. During this time of reflection, you'll want to define and determine your core values and beliefs.
When you have clarity on your core values and beliefs, it helps ground you on daily habits you focus on and reminds you of why you choose to prioritize certain activities over others.
Clarity on your core values and beliefs can serve as an anchor for your decisions in moments when you experience self-doubt or feel overwhelmed.
As you reflect, here are a few things to consider:
Think about people you admire or envy. Envy is an emotion you can tap into to help identify what you would like to have in your life. Perhaps there's a writer, athlete or someone who comes to mind with qualities or a lifestyle you want to embody.
Consider things that move you toward action (i.e., educational causes, caring for the environment, reading or owning a home). What do you feel moved to take action and speak up about?
What truly matters to you in a career, relationships, personal life, or other aspect of your life?
Are your current pursuits aligned with your current values and long-term goals?
Prioritize your goals
Think about different aspects of your life and identify a concise list of your priorities.
It's great to be motivated and have many goals, but the most crucial thing will be for you to prioritize daily.
What actions will you take daily that will help you reach your goal? How will you ensure you maintain your plan?
When you don't prioritize, your day could slip away without making tangible progress toward your goal. Even dedicating 30 minutes a day towards your goal is still progress.
As you write your short list of priorities, you'll want to think about these things:
What are your short-term and long-term goals in your career, finances, personal brand, relationships and fitness? Or any other aspect of your life.
Which goals are most aligned with your values and aspirations?
Capture your goals and try to focus on one main goal you can focus on for the next 90 days. Fit this goal into your daily habits and routines. Keep track of this goal and reconnect with this goal daily.
Assess your current commitments
Take a moment to evaluate your current commitments and activities you spend a lot of time on. What does your day-to-day look like and are you allocating your time to what you value?
As you evaluate your current commitments, here are a couple of things to assess:
What are you currently spending the majority of your time on? Your calendar may say one thing, but what does your day-to-day really look like?
Do your current commitments align with your prioritized goals and values?
Take a moment to identify and eliminate activities that don't contribute to your priorities.
Assess your current personal development plan
Continuous learning is an excellent investment in your life and future. When you develop new skills and learn new things, you allow new ideas, perspectives and possibilities to come your way.
Learning is great, but you must ensure you implement what you learn.
Take a moment to assess your current skills and areas for improvement:
What skills do you possess that can contribute to your goals?
Which skills must you acquire or develop to enhance your chances of success?
What will your personal development practice look like? (i.e., Taking an online course, reading a book or, listening to daily podcasts, etc.)
Determine your risk tolerance
Whether you're embracing change with open arms or navigating change one step at a time, it's important to understand your comfort level with taking risks.
Sometimes, there's a "risk of the unknown," such as market shifts, weather or operational changes in business.
There may be a "no regrets" situation, where no matter the outcome, you will be happy you took a leap of faith, such as moving to another city, buying a home or switching careers.
Sometimes, there are calculated risks where you take a series of steps and go for it, such as training for a marathon or applying for college or a new job.
Of course, the risk level will vary from person to person, so these are just examples, but it's ultimately helpful for you to have clarity on your own risk tolerance.
Take a moment to address the fear of change by assessing your risk tolerance:
What is your comfort level with taking risks to achieve your goals?
Are fears holding you back from pursuing a particular path? You may need to embrace taking calculated risks and develop strategies to overcome your fears.
Do you have any existing limiting beliefs that you need to address and reframe?
