Your Life, Your Map - Part 4 (final segment)

"Be open to discoveries. Don't have too fixed a notion of the path, but rather have some idea of the kind of things that most appeal to you."

---Unknown

So here's the final part of Your Life, Your Map.

  So far, this is what we've covered:

1. set a goal/point B

2. write it down

3. accept that you must reprogram the way you think

4. recognize the power of taking baby steps

5. work on yourself and your reality will rise to the level of the new you

This is the part where I know you might be waiting for me to explain exactly how to identify the specific steps you need to take in order to reach your goal.  After all, this post is about mapping out your life, right?  And aren't maps supposed to make the course from point A to point B perfectly clear?

Here's the thing.  Even with a map, you're going to get off course sometimes.

Yes, it is important to identify the significant milestones that you know you must reach on the way to your goals.  This is how we chart and evaluate our progress.  But to get overly fixated on the minutia of the process is a recipe for frustration and paralysis.  This is why going after your goals is such a lesson in faith.

So how do we do this?  How do we remain open to how the journey unfolds and still feel confident that we're still "on the right track"?  What do we do when our plans take an unexpected twist or "detour"?  This is why it is so important to be clear on your goal.  The more crystal clear you get on your goal, the more fine-tuned your internal guidance system becomes.

Everyone has the power within themselves to know if they are in tune with what they should be doing to move toward to what makes them happy and fulfilled.  This means that staying on the right path will mean changing your path at times.  What is the right thing for you to do today, may not be the right thing for you to do tomorrow.  When you start feeling confusion and dissatisfaction, this is an inner clue that you need to shift your direction.      

This is called "course correction" and it is a natural, integral part of the process of getting to point B.  Just think of a space shuttle with all of the minute mathematical planning and extreme care that goes into it in order to chart its course to the moon - it is still off course over 90% of the time!  Up to the point that the shuttle reaches it's destination, computer systems are constantly correcting the course of the shuttle. 

The trick in life is not to worry about making a wrong decision; it's learning when to correct! - Susan Jeffers

Sometimes, we get so glued to a path and make excuses like...

"Well, this is how we've always done things."

or "Well, this is what everyone does."

or "I invested so much into this, people will criticize me if I don't continue." 

...and we ignore the signal blaring in our subconscious saying, "Off course!  Off course!  Error!  Error!  Error! Time to correct!  Correct!  Correct!"  It is important to always give your all to whatever decision you make, but if it doesn't work out, don't keep doing the same thing expecting a different result (definition of insanity), change it!!! 

The world is full of people who did everything they were told to do only to realize that they gave their all to the wrong thing.  What's the use of reaching the top of a ladder at something that doesn't make you happy?

"You can never arrive at a happy ending after an unhappy journey."

So, this is the end of my blog post series - Your Life, Your Map.

Hope it helps.  :)