5 Steps to Clear Your Way for What Matters Most

If you want your life and work to be different in some way, something has to change. I know that sounds obvious, but knowing that and making it happen are two different things. It’s not always as easy to do as it sounds.

One of the biggest reasons it can feel hard to do is because, for many people, life already feels stacked out. Schedules are constantly full, and to-do lists are never ending. With everything you have to juggle just to keep your day-to-day life and work ticking along, creating something different can feel constantly just out of reach. It can feel like you're running hard but never really getting anywhere different.

Even when you do manage to find a little time from the hustle and bustle of daily life, you’re often too mentally or physically drained to use it for things that matter to you or for making changes.

To create the life and work you want, you first need to clear your path of the things that are getting in the way.

To help you get started, below is my five-step Clear Your Path process. It will help you reduce what's draining you, create more time, space, and energy, and make it easier to focus on what matters most so you can create the life and work you want.

Step 1: Stop tolerating

Without realising it, many of us are tolerating things that get in the way of how we want life and work to be. Over time, those things drain your time and energy and limit what’s possible. They keep you stuck. If something is getting in the way of what matters most to you, it's worth paying attention to.

The problem is that what you tolerate persists. That’s why deciding to stop tolerating is such an important first step.

What is it time to stop tolerating in your life or work? What have you been putting up with that is stopping you from moving forward?

Identify what needs to change, then start eliminating or reducing those things.

Step 2: Make time count

Do you need to take back control of your time? 

Too often, our days become filled with things that keep us busy but don't move us closer to the life and work we really want. Before you know it, your time is being spent reacting to whatever comes your way rather than choosing what matters most.

Review where your time is going. Are there things you could stop doing, do less of, delegate, or say no to? Are there changes you could make so you're spending more of your time on the things that will make the biggest difference to your life and work?

Make sure your time is being spent on what matters most to you.

Step 3: Fuel up

It's very hard to create the life and work you want if you're feeling drained, exhausted, and depleted. A car can't run on empty, and neither can you.

What are the things that give you energy? Do more of those things. What are the things that drain your energy? What can you do to eliminate or reduce those things?

The more energy you have, both mental and physical, the easier it is to focus on what matters most and create the life and work you want. Make it a priority. Because it is. 

Step 4: You Unleashed

What would become possible if you weren’t getting in your own way and decided now is the time to create the life and work you really want?

It’s an important question to ask yourself because not everything that is blocking your path forward is external. Some of the biggest blocks are internal, like fear, self-doubt, lack of confidence, or skills you haven’t developed yet.

Imagine what you could be capable of if you unleashed yourself from the things that keep you stuck. That’s worth giving some time and attention to.

Step 5: Keep Your Path Clear

Once you’ve cleared your path, it’s important to keep it clear as you move forward. Otherwise, it’s easy for old ways that don’t serve you to creep back in and block your path again. 

Think about what you could put in place to protect what matters most. For example, routines, systems, boundaries, or making different choices about what gets your time, attention, and energy.

The bottom line:

If you want to make changes and build your life and work around what matters most to you, start by clearing your path. It makes it much easier to move forward. It opens up potential, possibility, and opportunity.

Next steps 

If you found this useful, you can get more practical strategies in my Outside of the Circle newsletter. Sign up to receive it on my Outside of the website here.