Career clarity is something that we want, but it’s often times more difficult to achieve than we hope. Whether you lack career clarity due to the endless options in front of you or because you are fighting off discouragement, there is something you can do. When the path isn’t clear, don’t give up!

For many years, I have struggled with a lack of clarity and direction in my career. This lack of clarity and direction effected my personal life and I didn’t even realize it until I had broken free from the discouragement that was weighing me down.

How did I finally see what a lack of clarity was doing to myself? I did something big. I invested in myself. I paid for a goal setting course. I was terrified that the course wouldn’t even help me because I was too far behind.

However, that goal setting course started me on the journey that I am on today. The one that brought me here today. The one that pushed me to imagine the possibilities and embrace positive change.

It helped me to set personal goals and led me to start building a career plan even with my lack of clarity.

Here’s how you can start creating a career plan when you lack clarity:

Get to know yourself. This was a major realization for me as I went through the goal setting course. I knew that I didn’t know what I wanted to do for my job, but I didn’t know that I also lacked clarity in other areas of my life. I wanted to set goals for myself, but how could I know what goals to set if I didn’t know what was important to me? I started the process of getting to know myself.

Pick one area to focus on. There might be several areas that you want to explore after some personal reflection. Maybe you really want a job with more freedom in your work environment. Maybe you realize your interest in a certain subject and want to see if you can connect it to your career.

Take one step forward. It doesn’t have to be a big step. My first step was realizing that I had some negative thinking that I needed to free myself from as it was holding me back. Maybe your first step is interviewing people that are doing a job you’re curious about. Maybe your step forward is reading this blog or a career change book and joining the conversation. Whatever the step is for you, take it.

Trust the process. Trust me, I would love to say that all it takes is one shot at these steps and you’re on your way to perfect clarity. But I am still in the process of becoming clear on the direction that I want my career to go. It’s a constant process of getting to know myself, focusing on something I’ve learned, and taking a step.

In future posts I will share more of this journey with you. If you’re looking to invest in yourself and overcome your discouragement, you’re in good company.

Read my post on why personal growth important, here.

Please comment below with any thoughts or questions related to this post.

Questions: What is your area of focus? What would be a next step? Remember, a tiny step is still a step.