Future Planning

I had one of those 'I feel trapped in a little glass box' days today where you don't feel like you are going anywhere and you are just stuck there watching the world go by. So I went and had a chat to one of my favourite mental-health-coffee-catchup friends. He listened to me for a while and then offered some advice. 'You don't know what you want. You need a direction. You need a plan'.

Now I love to plan. I usually have about four on the go at any one time. But in this case we were talking particularly about my work and it just so happens that due to several factors at the moment I don't have a plan. In fact, I don't really have any idea what I want to do with my career. There are so many paths I can see in front of me, so many opportunities. Each has its own challenges and rewards that need considering. But they are almost so diverse,  so numerous and so ill-defined that I am still cowering inside my glass box not sure which way to go.

So my wise and understanding friend told me to write it down, draw a diagram, whatever, just get it out of my head onto some paper. He then offered his services and that of his wife as sounding boards for me to test my thoughts on. Knowing me as well as he does he recognised I need to talk myself around to what I want to do. What a wonderful friend!

So now I am off to dump all of my thoughts onto paper. I am armed with post-it notes, paper, pens, and coloring pencils, so I can follow whatever whim helps me to purge myself of all the thoughts whizzing around in my head. One thing I know is as long as I am still walking, and not just hiding in my box, I am getting somewhere, and it is never too late to change direction.