Are you the type of person who takes immediate action, confident that you’ve chosen the right path?

Or, are you more the type of person who needs to ask for everyone’s opinion – your friends, family, spirit guides, therapist, the stranger in line at the grocery store – before you take even the smallest step toward your goals?

Or perhaps it’s a combination of both. In some cases, you feel really clear about your next steps or decisions that you’re making, but when it comes to the major things, like finding your life purpose, you can’t seem to get the clarity you’re seeking.

The good news is: there’s only one path.

No matter if you think you made the wrong decision, or that you’re on the wrong path, or taking the wrong actions, you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.

You can build trust your inner compass through self-awareness and aligned introspection.

What would you do with more confidence?

Would you boldly pursue your passion and live your purpose?

Would you ask for the raise or promotion you deserve?

Would you put yourself out there to make new friends or attract your dream clients?

Sure, confidence can help you achieve all of those things.

But the truth is: you don’t need confidence to take big steps like that.

In fact, taking the big step creates confidence.

But in between those steps, you can build confidence over time. With smaller, more manageable actions you can start today.

Your values guide your decisions and set the tone for how you live your life.

But how do you know if you’re really living your values?

If you’ve done the work of identifying your core values, you may be wondering how to bring your values to life. Or how to bring more of them into your life.

Living your values means to be the most authentic version of yourself in all aspects of your life. Not just at work, or with your family, but in all areas that matter to you.

Just as your purpose is a compass leading you back into alignment with who you’re meant to be, your values guide you back to who you truly are.

Core values are the fundamental beliefs you have about your life.

They guide your behaviors, decisions, and actions. They bring about a sense of purpose and self-worth. They remind you what’s important to you and what you want more of in your life.

When you know what’s important to you, you can live in alignment with those values. This leads to greater fulfillment, clarity and self-awareness.

This self-awareness allows you to discover your purpose.

Your life purpose is who you are at your core. Identifying your core values brings you back to your center.

Values remind you who you are and who you’re meant to be in the world. They’re gentle guide rails to keep us on our path and help us choose actions that are aligned with what we really want.

When we find what we really want, we can truly live our purpose. And if every woman lived her purpose, every need in the world would be met.

In 2016, I started a new job, in a new town, with a new car, and I was on top of the world.

All my goals seemed to have fallen into place. I had the opportunity to build relationships with a new group of leaders, I had more autonomy over my work and full access to the senior leadership team. Not to mention a hefty bump in salary.

But about a year in to this position, I stopped feeling the high that brought me to that role in the first place. I enjoyed the work I was doing; it was challenging and rewarding. I liked many of the people I worked with (okay – some of the people). So what was missing?

Challenging work and a good team weren’t enough for me anymore. The missing piece was passion. I didn’t feel anything for the work the way I did in my previous position.

Then I remembered something my mentor told me, “things come into your life for a reason or a season.” Was my season up? Was I meant to do something more with my life? But what?

I started doing some research on purpose and passion. I listened to audiobooks on my commute and read articles on my lunch break. The resources all pointed to similar things: asking ourselves deep, thought-provoking questions.

These questions are designed to make us pause and think deeply about the answers. We don’t often give ourselves the luxury of time and solitude to figure things out. But when we do, we have the power to transform our lives.