The myth of the perfect plan
A lot of people stay stuck because they think they need certainty before they start.
They think they need:
- A perfect plan
- Complete confidence
- A crystal-clear end goal
- Reassurance that everything will work out
before they make any kind of move.
But most people who end up building a life or career they genuinely enjoy did not start with a detailed master plan. They started with a direction.
That’s very different.
A direction is simply a sense of what feels more right than where you are now – something that interests you, something you feel drawn towards, something you want to understand better.
You don’t need to know exactly where it will lead. In fact, a lot of the time, you can’t know.
Clarity comes through action
Clarity often comes through movement and action, not before it.
You start researching something. You speak to someone. You try a course. You apply for something slightly outside your comfort zone. You start a small project on the side. Then, as you take action and gain knowledge and experience, things begin to sharpen.
You realise:
- What you enjoy
- What you don’t
- What suits you
- What matters to you
- What kind of life you actually want
People often assume they need to make one huge decision about the rest of their lives. But most change doesn’t happen like that. It happens through a series of smaller decisions and experiments.
One conversation leads to another. One opportunity creates a different opportunity. One small step changes the options available to you afterwards.
You don’t need the final destination yet
And sometimes the pressure to ‘figure everything out’ is actually the thing keeping people frozen. They spend so much time trying to identify the perfect path that they never begin walking any path at all.
The reality is that most directions only become clearer once you start moving towards them.
You might start by thinking:
- “I’d like more freedom” or
- “I think I want work that feels more meaningful” or
- “I want to write” or
- “I can’t keep doing this exact version of my life forever.”
That’s enough to begin.
You don’t need to know your five-year plan.
You don’t need to know whether this will become your forever career.
You don’t even need to know whether your first attempt is the right one.
You just need to start exploring.
That might mean:
- Reading job descriptions
- Researching different ways of working
- Talking to people doing things that interest you
- Trying something small alongside your current role
- Paying attention to the things you keep coming back to
The aim is not to make one perfect decision immediately. The aim is to gradually get clearer.
And that clarity comes from taking practical action, not from endless (over)thinking.
Small changes still count
There’s also something else worth remembering: Changing direction doesn’t have to mean blowing your life up and starting again from scratch.
- Sometimes it means adjusting things gradually.
- Sometimes it means creating more flexibility.
- Sometimes it means combining different interests.
- Sometimes it means building something slowly alongside what you already do.
- Sometimes it just means admitting to yourself that you want something different.
That honesty alone can change a lot.
Start before you feel ready
You don’t need to have everything figured out before you begin. You just need a direction that feels worth exploring. Then take one small step towards it. And then another.
If this is something you’re working through at the moment, you may find the LLYW workbook ‘Find Your Direction’ helpful. It’s designed to help you explore possible directions, work out what they actually involve, and identify realistic next steps you can take.
And if you’d rather talk things through with a real person, I also offer one-to-one coaching conversations to help you work it all out.