At a crossroads? Start with what you are moving towards

Career changes, retirement, a relationship ending, children leaving home. Big transitions have one thing in common: the old structure goes, and the new one is not there yet.

Away from is not enough

Most people at a crossroads are very clear about what they want to get away from. That is useful, but it is not a direction. You can walk away from something in a hundred different ways, and most of them lead nowhere in particular.

Three questions worth sitting with

1. When have you felt most like yourself? Not happiest — most yourself. What were you doing?
2. What would you do if you knew it would work out? Then ask what makes you think it would not.
3. What does a good ordinary Tuesday look like in a year? Big goals are easier to set than good days are to picture.

You do not need the whole map

Clarity usually comes from movement, not the other way round. You need a direction and a next step, not a ten-year plan. That is most of what life coaching is for.