By best selling author and speaker Tim Connor, CSP
Each of us as we travel through life into our very personal future follows our own unique path. As we day by day, travel into the future, we make a variety of choices, decisions as well as take any number of actions - some positive, some negative, some better some worse than others. But, in the end; the end of the day or the end of a life we have all created the tapestry of our lives one day and one choice at a time.
It is unfortunate that many people do not have a clue as to where they want to end up, what they want to see or the roads they want to take. Oh, many of these people may say they are "on the right path," but that is often their ego's need to protect itself from the criticism or judgments of others. In reality they don't have a clue where they are going or why so they just trudge forward another day until they come to that time or place that speaks to them so loudly they can no longer ignore or avoid it's counsel: YOU ARE TRAVELLING ALONG THE WRONG PATH. YOU ARE GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. YOU ARE RUNNIING OUT OF TIME. THE TIIME TO CHANGE COURSE IS NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.
As a fellow traveler for many years I have too found myself lost, going in the wrong direction or been insecure I my position along the way and was easily persuaded to follow someone else's idea of what they thought my path should be. Sound familiar? I have known hundreds of people, no maybe thousands who are not happy with where they are on the path and won't be able to be happy until they change direction or even get on another path. One of the interesting discoveries I have made in life of late is, that wherever I go, there I am. I can change the path or the direction on the path but the traveler will still be me: with all of my opinions, prejudices, issues, judgments, dreams, hopes, frustrations etc. If the journey is to either be more fun, more rewarding or more satisfying in the end I must also be willing to look at the traveler and not just the path I am on.
What can we do to ensure we are on the right path, we stay true to it regardless of the pressures form others or our environment and find satisfaction in the journey along the way?
1. Spend adequate quiet time alone reflecting on your life. Where you are.
Where you want to be in the future. What needs to change in order to
reach that outcome, etc.
2. Refuse to be manipulated, coerced, pressured or lulled off the path that feels right for you. Be true to your own inner guidance system.
3. Be patient as you travel into your future. Everything takes time, nurturing, faith and persistence. The outcomes of your short-term actions are not always immediate or apparent. 4. Do something every day that moves you further along your path.
5. If or when you discover you are traveling the wrong path or in the wrong
direction. Correct it, but first ensure that you ask yourself enough of the right questions before you abandon your current direction. Nothing to be gained by jumping from one boat heading in the wrong direction to another one heading in a different wrong direction.
6. Keep asking yourself - why am I on this path? As long as you can answer that question with a satisfactory answer for yourself - keep at it, no matter how long or hard the journey.
My final thought for the week: The life path is never straight or easy but it can be fun and rewarding. It will be filled with crossroads, roadblocks, detours and any number of obstacles. The thing to always remember is that it is your path. Others may have traveled it before you and some may follow behind but for now it is your path alone. You may have companions or be alone. In the end, none of this really matters. What counts is that you listened, observed and changed path or direction when your heart said it was right for you to do so. Or, you stayed the course regardless of your circumstances and what life threw in your way.
