Which Direction?

Living things move. Occasionally inanimate objects move too but mostly they wait to be acted upon by living things, volcanoes and earthquakes notwithstanding. Even those living things that are rooted or fixed to a set point like trees or barnacles still move.

What about people? Seems people are moving faster all the time but which direction are they moving? Much of human movement is in circles of varying sizes. Kinda reminds me of Pooh and Piglet following tracks in the snow around a bush. That most famous of all originator of quotes, Anonymous, said, “Some people live 60 or 70 years, most merely repeat the same year over 60 or 70 times”. The difference lies in whether you have a direction or not and which direction you are headed.

Another way of thinking about it is that every day we make decisions that point us in some direction. Are they conscious or unconscious decisions? Critical thing is on what basis we make those decisions. Am I choosing my direction or just going with the flow? What is my destination or goal?

Because life is cyclical, we are either growing and living or stagnant and dying. Which direction am I headed? I am becoming either more or less free. Which is it? And remember, not to decide is still a decision which usually results in another trip around Pooh’s bush.

Where does failure fit in all of this? Failure means we are deciding. We are choosing a direction. We learn more from failure than success in no small part because we are often not sure what we did right to succeed and it is far easier to find the causes of failure.

My point is that I cannot improve my circumstances or change my life for the better unless I choose a direction or find my motivation. In the grand scheme of things, it is more important that I move than how far I got. Success in life is made up of daily choices that keep me moving in my chosen direction.

If you have no sense of where to go, take time today to talk with someone whose life choices you respect and ask them how they found their path. Then go find yours. . and begin your journey.