I've seen this play out with so many clients, but Lucy really sticks in my mind. She was in a job she hated. It didn't play to her strengths, her manager was very unsupportive and consequently her performance was dipping each month. Whilst working with me she told me that she dreamed of being a counsellor – but it felt hopeless. She had no savings, was in rented accomodation and felt her financial situation was a hurdle she just couldn't overcome.

We spent a lot of time together visualising her life as a counsellor, identifying goals and routes to achieve those goals – until this hopeless dream, didn't feel so hopeless after all! Yes, it didn't happen overnight. It took a few years to achieve, but her confidence and self belief skyrocketed and she took action by signing up for taster courses and researching volunteering options. She knew these obstacles could and would be overcome.

• Firstly, choose a timeframe – three months, six months, one year, five years.

• Write down what you hope your career/professional life will look like in that time frame – imagine what you might be doing, what your surroundings look like, what you might wear, what skills you are using, and make it as vivid as possible.

• Include what your hope for your career enables you to do, for example, maybe you'll have more free time so can start a new hobby, or maybe you're earning more so you can book a mini-break, or maybe it's giving you the chance to do something challenging such as speaking at a conference.

• Don't limit yourself – be aspirational.

• Identify the routes you can take to achieve what you hope for. Be as detailed as you can about the possible pathways. Also identify who can support you along the way.

• Make it accountable – put your letter in a stamped addressed envelope and ask someone to send your letter to you in the time frame you set for yourself.

• When you receive your letter, celebrate what you have managed to achieve in the letter and learn from what you haven't.

• After you've written your letter, check in with how hopeful and confident you feel about your career now.

If you need help feeling more hopeful about your career and improving your career confidence, then sign up for my online course The Confidence Plan: How to be more Confident at Work.