If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there. – Lewis Carroll
Imagine for a moment that you offer to give your friend a ride somewhere. You drive up to their house and they get into the car. The conversation then goes like this:
Friend: Alright, let’s go.
You: Okay, where are we going?
Friend: Come on, let’s just go!
You: How am I supposed to know how to get there if I don’t know where we’re going?
Friend: Exactly.
While this may seem like a silly example, think about how many people are actually living this scenario in their daily lives without even realizing it.
Maybe you are actually one of them. If you are, don’t feel bad, you’re not alone.
The question arises though: Where did things go wrong? At what point did we lose sight of the destination and therefore the path we need to take in order to get there?
For many people, there never really was a destination in the first place. We simply keep driving to familiar spots we had seen as kids, or our parents took us, or we heard about through a friend.
We never really did any exploring on our own.
So how COULD we know where else we’re capable of going?
Any destination seems fine. Let’s just go.
But now you’ve found yourself off-roading in a small compact sedan. Certainly this won’t do.
It won’t do because you didn’t bring the right equipment because you didn’t know what the destination was, remember?
So now you’ve not developed the proper skillsets to get where you want to go, I guess you’ve got to turn back around to familiar territory and start all over again. That is, until you get a new car.
The car – the vessel – is the knowledge and skills you choose to equip yourself with in order to reach the destination. When you get clearer on the goals, you’ll get clearer on what it’s going to take to actually reach them.
But if you don’t have any real commitment to where you want to go, you’ll just turn around, take detours, park at a random cafe to get some coffee, and call it a day.
Is this what you’re willing to accept for your life? The ONE CHANCE you get to live, do something meaningful, make an impact, and thrive? The ONE CHANCE you get to PAVE a new road, to CARVE a new path, to CHOOSE the journey you’re going to take…are you willing to leave it up to random circumstances?
Yeah, we didn’t think so.
Next time you have a few minutes to yourself, look around at the road you are currently on. Do you like the scenery, the people, the terrain? Are you happy with how you feel when you gaze off into the distance and enjoy the moment?
If the answer is yes, then congratulations! There are many who do not feel the same.
If the answer is no, fear not, for there is always good news: You are still the car, and there are infinite roads ahead. All you’ve got to do is choose which one is yours.