Finding Your Direction
For anyone ready to turn passion into something focused, clear, and actionable.
Hello you 🤍
Right now, at this moment, I’m sitting in the airport.
It’s one of my favourite places to be. And I do understand that most people (as far as I understand from conversations I’ve had—maybe I’m wrong) don’t fancy airports as much.
To me, they’re a place to breathe. To sense. To create. To dream.
In Transit, in Creation
Last time I was sitting in this exact chair, in the airport, I wrote this article named ‘‘Airport Reflections - Choosing solitude so I can return whole.’’
It was before I was very clear on my intention with Substack, and that’s how a creative process looks, in my opinion.
We have to try. To go all in. To keep doing whatever we’re doing. And at one point, down the road, we will find clarity. We will create with intention. Or now we have designed a road for ourselves—for our passion, and for the people who choose to follow us, or in some way or another, attend the path that we’re on.
So, to you: thank you for being here.
For reading along.
For walking this path with me, of creating a life we actually love living.
This is what I’m all about. This is what this Substack page is all about.
To sculpt our minds, and to design our lives.
Which inspired me to dig into creation.
Becoming a Student of Life
Today, I would love to share with you tools that I personally use when I try to define a direction.
When I take something as big and undefined as a passion, and try my best to narrow it down into something more specific.
Yes, it’s a journey. No, we don’t have to have anything all figured out.
No, I’m not done myself.
I believe we should continue being students.
Then, in my opinion, we will keep evolving. We will keep growing and expanding our worlds.
Define: student of life.
Someone who chooses curiosity over certainty.
Who keeps learning, unlearning, and relearning through lived experience.
Who understands that growth doesn’t come from having it all figured out, but from staying open, present, and willing.A student of life listens closely.
Pays attention to patterns, people, emotions, and moments.
Learns from joy and discomfort.
Sees mistakes as information, not failure.They practise becoming.
Again and again.
Creating With Intention
If you’re a writer, write.
If you’re a photographer, take pictures.
Practise the skill you want to become, or be more of, and it will flow more easily to you.
You will master it with practice, of course.
But my experience is that if we choose to create, then we have to:
Be honest with ourselves
Take brave choices
Fully align with ourselves
Create from the heart
Be aware of who our audience is. How can we add value to them? And which kind of value is it that we’re contributing?
I’ve been here a thousand times, with a thousand different heart projects.
Some I went for. Others didn’t feel right when it came to actually going for them—or I banged my head against what turned out to be a natural end and accepted the fact.
Closed the door. Moved on.
But my experience is that we need clarity and intention in our creation processes. It even makes us more creative to know that we’re creating within a set frame of intention.
At least, this is my personal belief. Please take what resonates and leave the rest.
From Passion to Path
Therefore, I have created a guide for you that will walk you through these exact steps:
Be honest with ourselves
Take brave choices
Fully align with ourselves
Create from the heart
Be aware of who our audience is. How can we add value to them? And which kind of value is it that we’re contributing?
How to Be Honest With Ourselves
Being honest with ourselves isn’t about harsh self-judgment.
It’s about listening—without rushing to fix, explain, or perform.
It starts with creating space.
Space to notice what feels light, and what feels heavy.
What excites us, and what drains us.
What we’re doing out of love, and what we’re doing out of habit, fear, or expectation.
Honesty asks us to slow down and ask better questions:
Why am I really doing this?
Does this feel expansive, or contracted?
If no one was watching, would I still choose this?
It also means allowing uncomfortable truths to surface.
Maybe something we’ve outgrown.
Maybe a dream that no longer fits.
Maybe a desire we’ve been quiet about.
Self-honesty requires compassion.
We don’t shame ourselves for past choices—we thank them for what they taught us.
We don’t force clarity—we let it arrive when we’re ready to receive it.
Being honest with ourselves is an ongoing practice.
A quiet agreement to meet ourselves where we are, not where we think we should be.
And from that place, real creation begins.
Take Brave Choices
Brave choices don’t always look loud.
Most of the time, they’re quiet.
They happen in small moments where we choose truth over comfort.
Alignment over approval.
Growth over familiarity.
Taking a brave choice means listening to that inner pull—even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed.
It might look like starting before you feel ready.
Letting go of something that once felt right.
Saying no where you used to say yes.
Or choosing yourself in a room where you were used to shrinking.
Bravery isn’t the absence of fear.
It’s the decision to move with fear, instead of letting it decide for you.
And here’s the important part:
Brave choices don’t have to be permanent.
You’re allowed to try.
You’re allowed to change direction.
You’re allowed to learn as you go.
Each brave choice builds self-trust.
And self-trust becomes the foundation for everything you create next.
You don’t need to leap.
Sometimes, bravery is simply taking the next honest step.
Fully Align With Ourselves
Alignment happens when what we think, feel, and do point in the same direction.
To fully align with ourselves, we first need to notice where we’re out of sync.
Pay attention to your body.
Tension often means resistance.
Ease often means truth.
Check your choices:
Does this feel like a yes in my body?
Am I acting from desire, or from obligation?
Is this supporting the life I want to live?
Alignment also requires boundaries.
Saying no to what drains you is saying yes to what matters.
Let your values guide your decisions.
When your actions reflect what you believe, clarity follows naturally.
Alignment isn’t perfection.
It’s a daily practice of coming back to yourself.
Again. And again.
Signs We Are Creating From the Heart
The process feels meaningful, even when it’s challenging.
We care more about expression than perfection.
Time moves differently—we feel present, not rushed.
The work feels true, even if it’s not fully formed yet.
We’re willing to be seen, without over-explaining or hiding.
The creation reflects who we are now, not who we used to be.
We feel a sense of relief after creating, not just pressure.
We’d still create it even if no one responded immediately.
Creating from the heart doesn’t mean it’s always easy.
It means it’s honest.
And honesty carries a quiet kind of power.
Be Aware of Who Our Audience Is — Coaching Questions
Who do I feel most alive and honest when I’m speaking to?
(Not who I should speak to—who I naturally show up for.)What problem, feeling, or desire do I deeply understand from lived experience?
(What have I walked through that others might need guidance in?)How do I want people to feel after engaging with my work?
(Seen, calmer, inspired, understood, challenged, supported?)What kind of value am I truly excited to give?
(Clarity, perspective, tools, emotional permission, language, depth?)If one person needed this today, who are they—and where are they on their journey?
(What do they know already, and what do they need next?)
Rooting for You
I hope you’re sitting on the other side, feeling right.
Meaning: this felt good and right for you to do, and that moving forward on your path now has a clearer lens to look through.
I love the quote: “You can’t compete with me, because I want to see you win too.”
And that’s exactly how I feel.
Refine, Don’t Reinvent
Let’s not change. Let’s not rebrand. Let’s refine. Let’s optimise what needs to be, and then let’s lean in, do our best, and trust ourselves and the process.
You’re deeply appreciated, and so capable.
Yes, you are. Loop it. Affirm it.
Thank you for reading along.
I wish you the best Friday evening.
Best,
Jasmin
One last thing 🤍
And oh—if you’re interested in growing your Substack (without being an influencer), I’ve got you.
I’ve grown 700+ subscribers in the past 30 days using the Grow Your Substack (Without Being an Influencer) method—and you can too.
Let’s start growing your Substack: LINK
How inspiring and positive!!!! Thank you so much for this kind of energy…
Love this quote too: “You can’t compete with me, because I want to see you win too.”
Even the Latin translation of “competition” is “to strive together”, “to seek together” -> arriving at a goal together, rather than purely adversarial struggle. Really good stuff here. I subscribed for more. ❣️🤗