How do I know if I'm on the right path?
By No Rush · Updated November 7, 2026
The short answer
You can't be sure ahead of time, so look at what you can see. How do your normal weeks go, and would you sign up for the next small step again? Research also shows people expect to change less than they do, which is why a small try beats thinking it over for months.
How do I know if I am on the right path?
Nobody can hand you a sign that settles it. Lists of signs, like a sudden calm or a lucky break, can't be tested. An ordinary week can. Write down where your hours went last week. Then ask what you'd change first if your weeks stayed like that for two more years. Start there.
Why is it so hard to tell?
Partly because you are still changing more than you think. Jordi Quoidbach, Daniel Gilbert and Timothy Wilson asked about 19,000 people aged 18 to 68 about their personality, values and preferences. People of every age described more change in the past ten years than people one decade younger expected in the next ten. One point of criticism: the change in the past rests on memory. Still, a path that fits you now may fit less in five years, and the other way round.
How to find the right path in life?
Try it in small pieces before you decide. Herminia Ibarra followed professionals moving into bigger roles. They watched people who already did the work, tried out small versions of their own way of doing it, and kept what fit. You can do the same with a path you doubt, or one you are curious about. Talk to someone a few years further along it, or do one part of it for a month.
What if I want to change but I'm scared?
Steven Levitt asked people who were stuck on a big decision, like quitting a job, to flip a coin online. Those whose coin said make the change were more likely to make it. Six months later they were on average happier than those whose coin said stay. Levitt calls the result suggestive, because the people chose to take part. It does hint that people may be too careful with big changes.
In the No Rush app
In the Steps tab, one part helps you explore other directions, and another helps you test one in real life, in a small way. On Home, the app sometimes suggests a small step you can still undo, or a talk with someone who does the work you're curious about.
No Rush app
An iPhone app for people who feel stuck. It sets out one small next step at a time and tells you why that one. It is not therapy.
Sign up free Take the test For iPhone. Coming soon to the App Store. The first seven days are free in the app. After that, you choose whether to subscribe. Sign up now and the app stays free for you, for life.
Sources
- Quoidbach, Gilbert & Wilson (2013). The end of history illusion. Science, 339(6115), 96-98. doi.org/10.1126/science.1229294
- Ibarra (1999). Provisional selves: Experimenting with image and identity in professional adaptation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(4), 764-791. doi.org/10.2307/2667055
- Levitt (2021). Heads or tails: The impact of a coin toss on major life decisions and subsequent happiness. The Review of Economic Studies, 88(1), 378-405. doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdaa016
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