10 reflection questions for finding direction
When you’re not sure where to go next, moving forward can feel impossible. You might feel stuck or find your mind jumping around from one option to the next. You might feel lost, like you’re deep in the forest and not sure what path to take to get out.
If you’re feeling stuck or unsure what direction you should go next, consider asking yourself some of the following questions:
1) What values would you like to prioritize right now? What values feel most important in your life right now? Education? Achievement? Balance? Family?
2) What areas of your life feel satisfying and what areas feel unsatisfying? Consider multiple areas of your life - career and school, family, friends, your physical environment, finances, leisure and hobbies, physical and mental health - which of these areas feel unsatisfying? What changes would you like to make?
3) What emotions do you associate with change? Reflect on your past experiences with change. What emotions do you associate with those experiences? Where do those emotions come from? If you associate change with emotions like fear and loss, it makes sense that moving forward in a new direction might feel scary or overwhelming.
4) What does your future self look like? Where is your future self living? What kind of job do they have? Who do they live with? In what ways is your future self aligned with your current life, and it what ways is it misaligned?
5) What’s your next smallest step forward? Trying to jump right to your long-term goals can be overwhelming. What’s the first step you can take towards your goals? Think about things like finding more information, buying a journal, making a list, or reaching out to a coach.
6) Where in your life can you experiment or try something new? Changes can start small! What’s an area of your life that you’d like to experiment? Do you want to try a new morning or evening routine, start journaling, or learn a new skill? What sounds fun to try?
7) What stories are you telling yourself about your current situation? “I can’t” statements, like “I can’t find a job outside of academia that is fulfilling and aligns with my values” or “I can’t start my own business and have financial stability” are good signs of stories you may be telling yourself.
8) What’s standing in the way of your goals? What barriers or obstacles are preventing you from living the life you want to live? What steps might you be able to take to better understand or remove those barriers?
9) What do you need in order to move forward? Do you need more information? Social support? Do you need to save some money to pay for a new professional development experience? Maybe you just need time to pass before the path to take becomes clear to you.
10) What do you need in order to have patience? Sometimes feeling stuck is more about circumstances beyond your control, like say a global pandemic. What would help you to have patience during this time of uncertainty?
