Procrastinating about your career direction? Take Action on Those Ideas If you’ve been stuck in the job you’re doing because you just don’t know which direction to take, you’re not alone. Not knowing quite what to do is one of the most common reasons for finding ourselves in a career fog. The good news is that you maybe closer to the answer than you think. Step 1 Review your ideas   If you sit back and think about it, you may find that you’ve had the same options or ideas circling in your mind for a long time.The fact is that consistently recurring ideas usually recur consistently for a reason. Take a moment to list the ideas you’ve had over the years. More often than not you’ll notice a common thread that runs through them. What is it that is attracting you? It may be a love of writing, a concern with the environment, a desire to help people, wanting freedom or your own business. Whatever it is it gives you strong clues about yourself and what you need. Step 2 What's stopping you   Ask yourself honestly what has stopped you from taking any of these ideas forward. Is it that you have not checked them out sufficiently to proceed with conviction, could it be fear of how to get there, a lack of confidence in your abilities or feeling that it’s impossible. We often do nothing because it all feels too out of reach or overwhelming.  The fact is that great careers happen in increments not in leaps. As Walt Disney famously said ‘it all started with a mouse’. Most career transitions don’t happen overnight, but equally they don’t happen at all if we do nothing. Step 3 Find out more  Follow through on ideas that seem to consistently attract you. Research them thoroughly. Talk to people in the industry. Do a course. Volunteer. These can all be great ways to learn more and. to find out if it’s really is for you. Our perceptions can be different from the reality of course. If it doesn’t stack up at least you can drop the fantasy and think about something else. Step 4 Take Action  If it does seem right, do something about it. Apply for that job. Check out the training. Save up the money. Write the business plan. No matter how small a step, take it. See where it takes you. There is tremendous energy in action. As the saying goes ‘ we miss 100 percent of the shots we never take’. Read about our breakthrough career change programme designed to help you discover and do the work you truly enjoy. Our career crossroads programme is  a great way to take stock and move ahead. Content copyright © 2006 One Smart Step