Choosing Direction Before You Have It All Figured Out
- Jen Glover
- May 6
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 9
This piece is the eleventh part of the Making Life Workable series —
a lived exploration of what happens when something doesn’t feel quite right anymore,
while everyday life continues around it.
Each part looks at a different moment in that experience —
not to tell you what to do, but to help you notice what might already be there.
You don't need to read this series in order. Just start wherever something feels familiar.
If you're new to this series, you're welcome to continue reading here. If you'd prefer to begin at the start, Part 1 is here.
Part 11 — How small shifts can guide you — even without certainty.
You want things to feel steady.
You care about doing things properly.
About keeping life on track.
But you’re starting to notice
what it takes to keep it that way.
By this point, it’s common to want an answer.
What now?
What does this lead to?
What am I meant to do with what I’ve noticed?
That pressure can build quickly.
The pressure to decide.
To explain.
To make it all make sense.
But real life doesn’t always work like that.
Sometimes you know something needs to change
before you know exactly what that change will be.
Sometimes all you know is this:
One way of doing things is taking more out of you. Another way, while not straight forward, takes less.
And that counts.
You might notice:
One place feels easier to be in than another.
One routine leads to fewer struggles than the last.
One version of the week leaves a bit more space.
You may not have the full picture.
But you can feel when something works better than before.
And that’s often how direction begins.
Not as certainty.
More like a quiet sense that:
This takes less out of me. This feels less forced. I’ve still got some energy left by the end of the day.
That can be enough to follow for now.
The next step doesn’t have to answer everything.
It doesn’t have to be permanent.
It doesn’t have to prove anything.
Sometimes it’s just the next step that feels possible.
Something you can try for now.
Another way of doing things
that fits a little better
and asks a little less from you than before.
That can be hard to trust.
Especially when life has real pressures.
Money.
Children.
Other people’s expectations.
When you’re tired, unsure, or waiting longer than you thought,
the pull to have an answer gets stronger.
You want to know you’re doing the right thing.
So the mind pushes:
Just decide. Just know. Just get it right.
But pressure doesn’t always make things clearer.
Sometimes it just makes people reach for answers
so they don’t have to sit in the not knowing.
And that’s different from moving carefully.
Making life workable isn’t about waiting until everything feels certain.
It’s about letting direction come from what you’re already seeing.
That might mean choosing something for now, not forever.
Trying something without needing it to become everything.
Saying:
This fits better than before.
And letting that be enough for now.
Because that’s often how things change in real life.
Not through one perfect answer. But through noticing, adjusting, and staying with what actually helps.
Little by little things begin to shift.
As you start responding differently,
you may also begin to notice what happens around you when you do.
Especially in relationships or situations where keeping the peace has mattered.
This sits within Emotional Wellbeing — where emotions are treated as information, not something to fix.
Emotions don’t need solving. They need space to move.
Whatever brought you here today, I hope you leave with something that helps life make a little more sense, or perhaps opens the door to something you hadn't noticed before.
🧭 Where To Go Next
🔗 Browse by Experience — explore what feels most familiar.
🔗 A Note From Jen — reflections that put words to experiences many people struggle to explain.
🔗 Begin Here — understand this approach and where to begin.
🔗 Find What Fits — explore resources, support and practical next steps.
✉️ Get updates by email — receive new reflections and resources as they're shared.
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