4 Steps to Carving Your Own Path
There’s something liberating and scary about having control of your own path. You have no one else to blame but yourself for whatever happens after you take a leap of faith. But ultimately, it calls for celebration when you decide it’s time to create your own journey to fulfill your vision.
Alisa and Michael spent the latest Seriously Though podcast episode talking about their own experiences with creating their own path and the steps to make you more comfortable with doing the same.
Step 1: Figure out what you value, what’s important to you.
Alisa already dove into discovering your core values a bit, but let’s address this crucial step again. Once you establish what sets your soul on fire, it provides a clearer direction to walk towards. It takes more than just thinking about what personal/professional values are important for your growth. From my own experience, spending time writing down what I need in my personal and professional life - in an intentional manner - is the difference between sitting in my thoughts and manifesting them into existence.
Do you value variety in your work days? Do you find a diverse and inclusive work space very important to you? The more specific your values, the easier it becomes to narrow down the opportunities you choose to pursue.
Step 2: Ask yourself what you want.
This step requires an immense amount of vulnerability and honesty with yourself. Unfortunately, many people don’t ask themselves what they want - even when it comes to what meal they really want to eat on a given day. Our everyday tasks distract us from listening to our actual desires. Many times we have to follow directions from a boss, unless we take the entrepreneurial route.
But, even if your current role is tailored to impress a manager, remind yourself you should be doing a great job for yourself, not just for the benefit of a boss. This will shift the focus from external figures to your internal desires. Think about whether the job you currently hold is fulfilling what you want in life. From there you will naturally begin to take the steps to make changes and take ownership of your individual path.
Step 3: Get creative on making it happen.
With so many paths at our disposal, there may still not be one that fits exactly what you are looking for. There comes a time where you need to think outside of the box to land your feet on your ideal path. Networking has been my favorite way to do this. Developing relationships with people who I admire allowed me to explore industries I thought I’d love opportunities in, figure out if that path is what it was cracked up to be, and meet people who I could collaborate with on projects that aligned with my values (it’s all full circle).
Notice the opportunities that are and aren’t available to you. You may see that an industry that has caught your eye is missing one important value you seek. It doesn’t mean you should rule out the opportunity altogether, you can create it and present it to people as a viable option for business growth. Creating those types of opportunities for yourself - whether it’s as small as setting up a call with a leader or as big as cold pitching a non-existent role you can fill - it’s so much satisfying to know that you can take initiative and reap the benefits.
Step 4: Don’t listen to the haters.
Listening to your naysayers is the easiest way to doubt your abilities. There will always be people who find your goals confusing, or worse unattainable. So why give them the opportunity to be right by giving up on what truly matters to you? To avoid falling into this trap, it may mean keeping your goals to yourself and a small circle of people who consistently provide support.
Having haters doesn’t mean your goals aren’t viable, it means your vision is too big for others to understand or it’s outside their comfort zones. This is a good sign you’re doing something right. If you’re brave enough to take a leap for your vision, that alone is worth celebrating because you’re taking the reigns of your own destiny.
