“I don’t even know what I want” is one of the most common things I hear in coaching and it is usually said slightly apologetically, as though not knowing is the problem.
It isn’t. Not knowing is completely normal. Waiting for certainty before you’re allowed to move is the actual problem.
Katrina’s Story
Katrina hadn’t sat in front of an interview panel in over fifteen years. When circumstances meant she needed to look for work again, she didn’t just feel out of practice, she genuinely didn’t know what she wanted next. Fifteen years is a loooong time. The person who’d chosen her last role wasn’t quite the person she was now.
She didn’t arrive at clarity by thinking harder about it. She got there by mapping in small, structured steps that turned “I have no idea” into “Here’s a direction I can test.”
Within a few sessions she had language for her value, a shortlist of what actually mattered to her now, and, crucially, the courage to walk into interviews without pretending she had it all figured out.
You don’t need a destination to start mapping. You need a season.
One of the frameworks I use with clients is the idea of Career Seasons: Ignite, Anchor, Adapt, Rise. Instead of trying to answer the impossible question “what do I want to do with my life,” we ask a smaller, more honest one: “what season am I actually in right now?”
- Ignite is when you are starting something new, building momentum. Here you may be low on experience in certain areas but high on energy
- Anchor is when you are settling in, going deep, building your expertise and stability
- Adapt is where something’s shifting, and you’re working out what comes next
- Rise sees you ready to step up, be seen, and be recognised for what you’ve built
Katrina was in Adapt. Knowing that didn’t hand her a five-year plan but it told her exactly what kind of decision she needed to make next, which is a lot more useful than staring at a blank page marked “future.”
Mapping starts with the season, not the summit
If you don’t know what you want yet, stop trying to see the whole route. Start by naming where you are. That’s not a lesser version of a career plan, it’s the only version that actually works, because it’s honest about the fact that clarity comes from movement, not the other way round.
If you’d find it useful to map your own next step; fully, properly, out loud, with someone helping you see what you can’t quite see yourself then my free session Own Your Career Value is the place to start. Tuesday 15th September, 6pm, or Thursday 24th September, 12pm.
Own your time. Own your energy. Own your career.
