This toolkit is designed to help you assess whether it’s time for a significant life or career change. By guiding you through reflection, self-assessment, and envisioning your future, these activities will help you identify areas of alignment or disconnect and provide clarity on your next steps.
How to Use This Toolkit:
Dedicate quiet, uninterrupted time for reflection.
Complete the activities in sequence or focus on the ones most relevant to your current situation.
Journal your thoughts and feelings throughout the process.
Revisit these activities periodically to check your alignment as your circumstances evolve.
1. Clarify Your Lifeview and Workview
Activity:
Reflect on your beliefs, experiences, and thoughts about life and work.
Write two short reflections:
Lifeview: How do you see life? What drives your sense of meaning and fulfillment?
Workview: What role does work play in your life? What values and goals guide your career?
Optional Visual Exercise:
Create a timeline or map of your life’s significant experiences using My Life Map by David Marshall and Kate Marshall as inspiration.
Reflective Question:
How are your lifeview and workview aligned or incongruent with your current reality?
2. Use Reflective Tools to Learn More About Yourself
Activity:
Take the Four Tendencies Quiz by Gretchen Rubin to understand how you respond to internal and external expectations.
Complete the CliftonStrengths Assessment to uncover your innate talents and learn how to leverage them.
Reflective Question:
How can these insights guide you in designing a career and life that aligns with your values and strengths?
3. Notice What’s Behind Your Emotions
Activity:
Journal your emotions about your current situation. Be specific: Are you frustrated, excited, overwhelmed, or bored?
Identify the sources of these emotions and consider what triggers them.
Reflective Question:
What emotions do you want more of in your life and work, and what changes might help you achieve them?
4. Listen to Your Gut
Activity:
Pay attention to both physical and intuitive signals:
Are you experiencing physical stress or discomfort that may indicate a need for change?
What is your intuition telling you about your current situation?
Reflective Question:
What steps can you take to honor your physical and emotional well-being?
5. Envision Your Ideal Future
Activity:
Reflect on what your ideal life would look like, free of societal or family expectations.
Use Martin Seligman’s concept of Authentic Happiness as a guide to consider:
Positive emotions
Engagement
Authentic connections
Meaning and purpose
A sense of accomplishment
Reflective Question:
If there were no barriers, what would you be doing, and how would that feel?
Final Step: Assess Your Alignment
As you complete these exercises, pay attention to recurring themes or feelings of disconnection. Use these insights to determine your next steps:
Minor Adjustments: Do you need to set boundaries, communicate your needs, or shift your perspective?
Significant Change: Is a major career or life pivot required to align with your values and goals?
Reflective Question:
What intentional actions can you take today to move closer to the life you envision?
Tips for Success:
Revisit Regularly: Your goals and circumstances evolve—return to these activities periodically.
Share Your Journey: Discuss your reflections with a trusted friend, mentor, or coach for additional perspective.
Experiment: Give yourself permission to explore changes incrementally before committing to significant decisions.
If this toolkit resonated with you, share your insights with others or connect with a coach to deepen your exploration and create a concrete plan for change.
