{"id":5450,"date":"2013-09-04T05:45:30","date_gmt":"2013-09-04T09:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/?p=5450"},"modified":"2019-06-07T13:39:00","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T17:39:00","slug":"how-to-figure-out-whats-next-a-reblog-from-lauree-ostrofsky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/how-to-figure-out-whats-next-a-reblog-from-lauree-ostrofsky\/","title":{"rendered":"How to figure out what\u2019s next, a reblog from Lauree Ostrofsky"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I talk with people about living life intentionally, one of the common objections I hear is that they don’t know where they want to go. People might know they’re dissatisfied with where they are but can’t yet see a vision of another way. They don’t know what their dream job is or they don’t know what they want in a mate or they don’t know where they’d live if they could go anywhere.<\/em>
\nI’m a big fan of visioning<\/a>, but I am also humble enough to not presume to have all the answers. I get being overwhelmed by too many possibilities and not knowing how to begin sorting through them all.<\/em>
\nThat’s why I loved this latest post by coach and author Lauree Ostrofsky<\/a>. She kindly agreed to let me share it here with you.<\/em>
\n

\"Lauree
Lauree Ostrofsky<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nI\u2019m finally reading The 4-Hour Work Week<\/a> by Tim Ferris. I say finally, because I\u2019ve been recommended it so many times I get the feeling the universe is trying to tell me something.
\nOkay, I\u2019m listening!
\nIn his book, Ferris describes a conversation between a customer and an American business owner living his dream running an extreme sport company in Brazil.
\n\u201cI wish I could do what you\u2019re doing,\u201d the customer says.<\/strong>
\nHis answer: \u201cYou can.\u201d
\nSince the moment I announced my next adventure<\/a> \u2014 moving from D.C., house sitting in Manhattan, decluttering with my parents, and now a cross country\u00a0book and hug tour (this is coming to you from the great state of Wisconsin as a matter of fact!) \u2014 I\u2019ve had similar conversations.
\nMaybe you\u2019ve wished you could go on your own adventure, too.
\nIf so, ditto. You can.
\nDon\u2019t believe me? You\u2019re in good company. Before the words \u201cYou can\u201d leave the air, most people are quick to explain why they can\u2019t.
\nIt\u2019s not the right time.<\/em>
\nI don\u2019t have enough money.<\/em>
\nSo-and-so won\u2019t let me.<\/em>
\nI will, but not now.<\/em>
\nI won\u2019t reiterate Ferris\u2019 entire book, so suffice it to say that those responses are completely normal, and are designed to keep you in a safe, comfortable place for as long as possible.
\nIf you don\u2019t want to, I\u2019m not going to drag you.
\nHowever, if you really do wish to do something different, then it\u2019s time to stop the excuses and start.<\/strong>
\nStarting doesn\u2019t mean throwing your entire comfortable life away. It means making an incremental choice, then another, and then another until you\u2019ve moved on almost without realizing it.
\nStephanie Vessely wrote about that in her guest post about feeling stuck<\/a>. The small leaps that add up to big ones.
\nOne of the responses I hear, and that Stephanie expressed, is\u00a0I don\u2019t know what to do next<\/em>.
\nThe easiest, fastest way to figure it out is to start with what you DON\u2019T want to do.<\/strong>
\nIf I asked you what you want for dinner, you might know that you don\u2019t want pizza. That alone helps us weed through options.
\nIf you want to go on your own adventure, but don\u2019t know what that is yet, first make a list of everything you don\u2019t want.
\nThe list can get lengthy. I don\u2019t want<\/em>\u2026a lot of things.
\nThe more clarity you have around what doesn\u2019t work, what could suddenly comes into focus. You\u2019re doing the same weeding out of options as if we were ordering dinner.
\nNext to each item on the list of what you don\u2019t want to do, draw an arrow and write down why<\/em>.
\nYou will then have two lists: \u00a0what you Don\u2019t want, and clues for what you Do.
\nIf you don\u2019t want pizza, that would go on the Don\u2019t Want list. The Why (Do Want) list then could say it\u2019s because you don\u2019t feel like Italian. Or that you had pizza last night and you want a meal you haven\u2019t eaten in a while.
\nKnowing those helps us see what you\u2019d like instead. Same goes for your career, and relationships.
\nFrom there, you can limit things in your life that are on the Don\u2019t Want list, like Stephanie did. You can also flesh out the Do Want list even further.
\nThese lists are Starting.
\nYou really do know what you want, and you really can go after it. This one exercise is a giant step in the right direction.
\nWhat\u2019s next for you?<\/strong>
\nRelated posts from Newvine Growing:<\/p>\n