A time comes for all when a new course must be set in our creative and business pursuits. It could be a new passion, a better job opportunity or it could even be that where you are now is no longer livable. The way that you go about setting yourself and the people in the boat with you on a new trajectory is immensely important.
Below I’ve outlined 7 steps to take when setting a new course.
1. Set Clear Goals
Enough cannot be said for the importance of setting goals for your new venture. It’s hard to know which direction you should go if you haven’t even set a destination. Sometimes the goal is getting away from where you are right now though you may not yet know where you are going. That’s okay too, but choose a direction on purpose.
2. Come up with a Plan
So you know where you are going, how do you get there? Just turn the boat in that direction. How do you turn the boat? You’ve got to take the helm and steer. Can we go straight there or are there rocks, islands etc. we’ve got to navigate? One of the great things about setting goals is that it begins to force you to ask real questions about how you will accomplish them.
I like to think of this stage like I am preparing a business plan for a presentation. I like to pretend that the success of the new venture depends on how well prepared I am and how well the presentation goes (which is not too much of a stretch).
3. Talk to Your Spouse
Remember those goals and that plan? Now is a great time to share them with your co-captain. I have found in my experience that sharing my goals and plan before setting a new course goes a lot more smoothly than after having set the course. The buy-in of your spouse is the single most important asset to your new goal.
Your first goal is not to convince or persuade, but simply to inform. The less you can make it a sales pitch the better. Talk about the pros AND the cons. In fact, maybe talk about the cons even more. My instinct has been to try to conceal the possible negatives of a new idea in order to get it to “pass” but the truth is, talking openly about the cons fosters trust. It shows that you take your goal seriously enough to foresee the challenges ahead. It’s a way of demonstrating that you are both on the same side and that you value your spouse’s problem solving skills. It assures your spouse that you can work together to solve problems and overcome challenges.
4. Talk to Your Kids
Anytime you change course, the people in the boat with you are going to notice. There may be huge changes to routines, schedules, etc. or the changes may be very subtle. Sharing your goal and plan with your kids is a great way to demonstrate a healthy approach to setting goals and making plans. Through the conversation you may uncover new challenges that you had not seen previously. Through conversations like these, our kids, at just about any age, come to understand and believe that they have a voice and that their voice matters.
What if your kid is too young to have any clue what it is you’re talking about? The exercise of talking to your child at any age gives you yet another opportunity to present your goals and plans out loud, further solidifying them in your mind. As you talk through what the long term effects of this goal for your child may be, you might yourself uncover new challenges that you wouldn’t have otherwise discovered. Plus, BONUS: Studies show that talking to infants and babies regularly is integral to their ability to develop language skills. So there’s that.
5. Consider Overlapping
Sometimes the best thing to do is to stop what you are doing right now and move on to the next thing. It may be possible, however, that you need the thing you’re steering away from to carry you some of the way to your new goal. As a part of the planning process, determine realistically what you will need to “make it” in your new venture. Quitting a job or walking away from steady income to pursue a new passion or goal is a very romantic idea, but not being serious about the question of resources can cripple your new venture before you even begin.
Do you have the financial resources to completely walk away from what you were doing before and start something new, even if it’s not going to make enough money at first? This may be in the form of savings, residual income, a sugar-mama/sugar-daddy, etc. Or maybe you do need to build this on the side while you continue working. Sometimes, having an exit strategy for a job or pursuit we’ve come to hate, gives us enough of a “light at the end of the tunnel” to keep pressing on.
6. Give It Some Time
So you’ve started on your new course and you’re about a week in when you discover that things are not what you thought they would be. Should you quit? What if it persists and you find yourself a month down the road, still not happy with how it’s going? Two months? Six months? A year? Rarely do our goals look in execution the way they did when we first imagined them. Stay the course. What does that mean? For how long? Only you can decide that. Make it a part of your plan to stay for a per-determined length of time. Sometimes, in fact most of the time, you don’t get to the good stuff without going through some rough patches. Now obviously if your boat is about to be torn apart or capsized, you may need to change course. Know how long you are willing to stay, and know what storms you are willing to weather.
7. Hold Your Plans Loosely
As a final thought I would say as I have said before, hold your plans loosely. It’s super important to make a plan, but once you’ve set course, be ready to recalibrate or adjust for unforeseen circumstances. Be flexible.
I wish you success and smooth seas wherever you are in your journey. Thank you for reading!