Recently I was lost in Houston.

On a morning walk I got completely disoriented and couldn’t find my way back to my sister’s house. I saw the bridge of the freeway and my heart sank!

This is not the first time I have got lost.

I have a terrible sense of direction, and on holiday it’s at its worst without my trusty safety net of Maps.

Ironic as I spend my days focusing on finding direction in life and work!

How does your energy work over time?

Do you wake up every day, every week, of every year with the same amount of it?

Or does it ebb and flow?

With times when you feel you could take on anything, times when you need to curl up and hibernate, and times when you just want to get outside and play?

Like the seasons of the year, most of us vary. We don’t all have access to the same amount of energy all the time.

And yet we can expect that we ‘should’, and feel surprised that we’re not operating at our ‘usual’ capacity.

This is me right now. Really ready for a hammock!

When I work with people around purpose the biggest emotion is often a sense of relief.

That I’m not going to ask them to find their ‘one thing’.

That our goal isn’t a mythical quest that they have to strive to work on for the rest of their lives.

That it’s not (always) about saving the whole world.

Instead it’s about connecting with how we show up, and the impact we have, when we feel a sense of purpose - when we feel ‘on purpose’.

As a child we are often asked what we want to be when we grow up, and the answer for so many of us is…

“I don’t know yet”.

As an adult we are often asked where we want to be in 10 years time, and the answer for so many of us is…

“I don’t know yet”.

We don’t have a crystal ball.

We don’t have control over so many things that could happen.

We perhaps haven’t even thought about it.

And perhaps we don’t want to, because of the risk it might not turn out the way we planned.

And yet… even if you don’t - and really can’t - know exactly where you will be, and what you will be doing, it can still be super useful to map out a ten year timeline.

When you feel like there’s a right answer to something, and you’re not sure what it is, how do you feel?

Energised and open? Excited by all the possibilities?

Probably not.

Stuck? Anxious? Scared of getting it wrong? Worried you’ll make a mistake that can’t be undone?

More likely!

Often we can get really stuck trying to work out the right answer to something.

Which way to go? Which direction to pick? Which option to choose?

It can feel black and white, as though one way is good and the other not. As though there’s no going back. The decision making process can feel tight, and stressful.

These types of right/wrong choices can come up in coaching conversations. Often around the big things, but often about the small things too.