When I was in high school and college, I remember thinking "I just wish someone would just tell me what I'm supposed to do with my life." I felt little bits of interest here and there in my classes, but not anything strong enough to be called a passion, or even a pre-passion. The advice usually given to me was "Follow your passion" and that stressed me out, rather than encouraged me!
I just wish someone would just tell me what I'm supposed to do with my life."
What I did have was an internal compass - I wish I trusted it more!
You Don't Need a Definitive Roadmap!
In this post, we’ll discuss why you don’t need a definitive roadmap for the next ten years, why trusting your internal compass is important for college students, and how to follow your intuition more to help you make the right choices in your college and post-college journey.
What is a Roadmap?
First, let’s talk about the roadmap. A roadmap is when a student has their whole plan mapped out. It includes clear step-by-step instructions on what courses to take each semester to complete their college degree in a certain timeframe, the next steps to take right after college, and what they will be doing in 10 years.
You can compare this roadmap to clicking the "preview directions" button on Google Maps, seeing every step identified before reaching your destination.
That sounds great! But not all students have that clarity or even want to commit to these future steps. Still, many students feel like they should have a roadmap, and if they don’t, they fear they’re behind or that something is wrong with them.
Roadmap VS Internal Compass
A roadmap sounds like a solid plan. However, it doesn’t always account for the bumps in the road or unexpected opportunities that will come up along the way, or even just a change of desire.
That is why I recommend students trust their intuition or internal compass more.
Case Study: Matt’s Journey with His Internal Compass
An example is my college client Matt. I met with him yesterday and we talked about his disinterest in his current major and apprehension about switching to another major. We discussed the following questions:
What if he didn't like the other major either?
What would this new major lead him to?
Should he just stay in his current major?
But he dreaded the next three years of the courses he needed to take for his current major.
He really wanted me to hand him a roadmap through a major and to a high-paying job that he loved. But that’s not possible because the plan would not have been generated from his internal compass.
Trusting His Internal Compass Over the Roadmap
Showing him how to direct his thoughts toward his internal compass and trusting his gut to take him down a path that was aligned with his interests and personality will take some time, but he realized the compass metaphor made more sense than waiting for someone to hand him a map or trying to plan out a step by step roadmap.
Matt started looking into other majors and brainstorming what he could see himself doing post-college.
How to Guide Your Internal Compass
If you’re interested in guiding your internal compass, here are three steps to help you:
Ask yourself: Which Interests Lead to Curiosity?
This could be a topic, idea, problem, or situation that piques your interest. Students can tell that an interest is worth further exploring if their curiosity takes over and they want to learn more or take action on that interest - that's a huge sign!
Next: What Do You Want to Learn About These Topics?
The college major is about expanding your capacity for learning. Learning what you’re curious about will achieve this, not what you think you should be learning about or what will land you in a particular career or job, but feels boring. There are multiple pathways to any one career. Follow your curiosity and see where it takes you!
Take action
Write down all the questions you have about the world, and what you are deeply curious about (not just what you're "interested" in). Then, go read, watch, talk to people, and explore anything related to your curiosities.
From there, notice the people working in these areas. What are they doing? What are their titles? Now the internal compass will start pointing in a general direction!
Embrace Your Internal Compass
Learning to trust your internal compass is a valuable skill that will serve you in college, your professional career, and your personal life! All of this combined with the Sparketype Career Assessment that I use in my coaching results in much more productive major and career conversations, leaving college students feeling very confident, instead of apprehensive!
No More "I Don’t Know"
No more "I don't know", and instead, "I'm figuring it out" when it comes to major and career confidence building, which is a nod to the internal compass.
Have you ever trusted your intuition during college or your career, and it led to a positive outcome? I’d love to hear about your experiences—feel free to share in the comments!
Ready to Start Navigating Your Internal Compass?
If you know a rudderless college student who might be interested in navigating their internal compass in college with a neutral College Success Coach, schedule a free no-obligation consult call with me!
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