Sometimes, the most meaningful steps we take don’t come with fanfare, they don’t make a noise, and they don’t demand attention but they change us nonetheless. I recently read an article entitled “Keep Taking Steps Among the Sand Dunes.” It stirred something in me which was perhaps a quiet truth, that much of our growth happens in the moments no-one else can see.

The article referenced a quote by Carl Jung which many of you will know:

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate.”

Thi is powerful,and it’s a quote that gets to the heart of personal development and self-awareness. In coaching, this speaks directly to the concept of Johari’s Window which is a model that helps us understand the balance between what is known to us, what is hidden, and what remains unknown. It reminds us that unless we shine a light on our internal blind spots, we’ll continue to be guided by forces we don’t even realise are there.

This  got me thinking… how do we make the unconscious conscious? Of course my doctorate concentrated on understanding this from a coaching perspective and my goodness what discoveries I made.

This is a different question.

How do we move from drifting through life to living it deliberately?

That’s when I turned to a photo of a place I love, a beach in France, one of those places that stays with you long after you leave. I often find myself thinking about it. The peace. The space. The sense of freedom. The way the air and light and sound create a kind of stillness that’s hard to find elsewhere. It’s not somewhere I can get to easily of course, but I’ve found another place closer to home that gives me something similar. It’s my go-to spot for thinking, dreaming, and pressing pause on life for a moment. A place to be quiet. To be mindful. To reflect.

I think that is really what this post is about. 

We live in a world that’s constantly moving,  faster, louder, and more distracted than ever before. It’s easy to feel like if we’re not doing something big, something measurable, then we’re not progressing. I could argue the opposite.

Progress can come in the quietest of forms:

• In choosing to absolutely pause.

• In asking yourself, “What do I really want?”

• In taking a walk or run without your phone and letting your thoughts catch up with you.

• In sitting with a notebook and not judging what pours out.

These are not small things. They are powerful. They are conscious. They are the first steps to reclaiming focus and direction.

So this month, my message is simple:

Give yourself the space to think.

Make time for stillness. Let your mind wander. Reflect not just on what you need to do but what you want to be. Let your dreams take shape in those quiet moments and then start turning them into goals. Measurable, visible goals that bring you closer to the life you want to live, be accountable and take responsibility for those actions. Once we bring awareness to our unconscious thoughts, to those deeply buried longings or patterns we then stop calling it fate, and we start calling it concious choice.

That, I believe, is where true transformation lies.

As ever, if you’d like support in making those unconscious thoughts visible, or if you’re ready to take the next conscious step toward your goals, I’m here.