Do you find yourself wanting a change but feeling unsure what you would move toward?
In my coaching practice, I meet people in this uncertain space all the time.
Some are contemplating a major career or industry change. Some are curious about consulting, self-employment, or building a small business.
Others are nearing retirement and wondering how paid work, volunteering, learning, creative pursuits, and more spaciousness might fit into their next chapter.
The details differ, but the question is often the same: What else might be possible for me?
I know that place well.
My Path Back to Possibility
When I left my job as a school psychologist, I did not have a clear vision for what came next. I had experienced burnout and a stress response that was affecting my ability to get pregnant. Rather than sign my contract for another year, I chose to step away.
My plan was loose: slow down, try to get pregnant, and, if that happened, try being a stay-at-home mom for a while as I figured out what I wanted to do with my life.
Somewhere along the way, I assumed I would have an epiphany. I thought that once I had enough distance from work, the answer would simply appear.
It did not.
I look back at that burned-out 28-year-old version of myself with so much tenderness. I was trying to recover, become a mother, and imagine an entirely new future all at once. Caring for young children brought many meaningful moments, but it did not naturally create much time, quiet, or spaciousness for self-discovery.
Over time, I learned that clarity often does not arrive on its own. Many of us need to intentionally create conditions that help us dream, reflect, and open ourselves to new possibilities.
For me, one of those turning points came years later, when I enrolled in a positive psychology certificate program. During an immersion experience away from my family, including my then-elementary-school-aged daughters, I had the rare opportunity to slow down and engage in deep self-reflection.
At first, it felt scary. I found myself moved to tears more than once. Yet that experience helped me begin noticing what mattered to me, what energized me, and what kinds of work I wanted to grow toward.
Looking back, I did not need a fully formed plan. I needed permission to become curious again.
Why Dreaming Can Feel Surprisingly Hard
If you are struggling to picture a new future, it does not mean you lack ambition, creativity, or potential. Often, we are using so much energy to cope with the present that it is hard to imagine anything beyond it.
Burnout, guilt about leaving meaningful work, fear about the future, and the comfort of what is familiar can all narrow our view. So can a long-held professional identity or the pressure to choose the “right” next step.
The good news: you do not have to identify one perfect answer. You can begin by treating your ideas as possibilities to explore.
Ways to Invite in Possibilities
The following practices are simply invitations to get curious. You can respond in a journal or record yourself answering aloud.
- Try the Best Possible Self Exercise
This practice is adapted from psychologist Laura King’s Best Possible Self exercise. You can find the original practice and fuller directions here.
Set aside 15 minutes to imagine your life in the future, after everything has gone as well as it possibly could. Let yourself picture a meaningful life, including work or contribution, relationships, wellbeing, learning, and how you spend your days.
Write continuously about this future, or record yourself speaking freely. For now, set aside practical barriers and focus on what you hope could unfold.
Repeat the exercise on several different days. Then read or listen back for themes: What values, interests, strengths, or ways of living seem to matter most?
- Explore Your Interests
Give yourself permission to answer without judging whether an interest is practical, marketable, or worthy of becoming a job.
- What was your favorite job, paid or unpaid? What did you enjoy about it?
- What did you enjoy doing as a child?
- What topics, problems, or communities pull your attention?
- What do you enjoy learning about?
- What would your ideal day at work look like?
Notice what repeats. You may discover that you are drawn to particular types of problems, environments, people, or ways of spending your time. You do not need to turn every answer into a career plan. Let the patterns be information.
- Use a Career-Exploration Tool for Ideas
Career-exploration tools can highlight interests, skills, and occupations you may not have considered. They cannot tell you the one right path, but they can offer ideas to explore.
- ONET Interest Profiler: A free assessment that helps you identify work-related interests and explore occupations connected to them.
- Career Dreamer: Google’s AI-powered career-exploration tool can help you reflect on your transferable skills and interests, then generate possible career directions. Use it as a brainstorming partner, and investigate any suggestions that spark curiosity.
You are bigger than any one job, role, identity, or imagined future. Inside you are interests, strengths, values, and skills that may not have had room to speak yet.
Start small. Let yourself imagine. Notice what brings a flicker of energy, interest, or relief. Those are not final answers, but they may be meaningful clues.
This Week’s Challenge
Choose one way to make space for possibility this week:
- Try the Best Possible Self exercise.
- Answer one of the interest questions.
- Use a Career-Exploration Tool.
Then ask yourself:
What possibility am I curious enough to explore, even if I am not ready to decide anything yet?
I’d love to hear what emerges for you. Share in the comments and join the conversation.
Need Support?
If you’d like personalized support while navigating a life transition, email me at dianna@collierclan.net for a free consultation.
Dianna Collier 