Where do you want to go from here?

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Just over a week ago, my son Nick and I were returning from Mexico.  As we sat on the plane, ready for take off, the pilot announced. "ladies and gentlemen there will be a slight delay, as our flight plan has not arrived yet."  (Kind of important, right?)   So we waited for 2 hours until it finally arrived.  Great, now we can take off.  No, we now have to re-fuel. 
I chuckled to myself and thought...."did we not plan this trip out already?......I think Edmonton was the plan, right???

Does this sound familiar?

Someone just acheived great success.......................they say to them themselves, I don't know where I want to go from here?

On the flip side, they may have experienced great pain and challenge.   They think, wow, I don't want that again, but I don't know where I want to go from here to avoid future pain.

Why is that exactly?

Well, I have a few thoughts...

If you are like most people, you don't set a course/plan with absolute intent.

Gee,.. I didn't know that I would end up HERE!   Where did you want to go in the first place?  I don't know.  Then you may have ended up where you were suppose to go.

Alice in Wonderland......
It's hard to believe that there was deep meaning in this classic novel, but one scene and series of quotes really hits home with this week's topic.

Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?

The Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.

Alice: I don't much care where.

The Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go.

Alice: …so long as I get somewhere.

The Cat: Oh, you're sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.

Does this resonate with you and your plans sometimes?  How can you change that?

Like a great road trip......it is ok to tour sometimes, (you may use more fuel), but eventually you need to end up at a particular destination.  (It could be where you started in the first place)

The reality in life is that time starts to play a factor.   If we do not establish some form of clarity in our life as to where we want to go from here, we will tour around and waste fuel.  Not a big deal over a weekend, but if you make this a habit for a month, year, decade, it could be costly.

A few examples:

Starting out on a new career path, but you don't know if it is for you.   10 years later, you realize that it wasn't for you.

Working on some form of education to find out it wasn't what you really wanted to do.......oops I changed my mind.

Being in a relationship for many years and as you approach retirement, where you can spend more time together, you want to travel the world and your partner wants to relax at home.

Remember, ....you need to ask the question often.  Where do I want to go from here?  When other people are involved, and they usually are.  (i.e. partners, kids, business associates, etc.) You need them to answer the same question. 

A tip for this......................fast forward 5 years out.   What do you see your life looking like?  Do you like what you see?  What scares you most? Make some small corrections now to reset your course.  Communicate with others, if necessary. 

Plan and chart Life's journey!  It does not need to be as precise as a flight plan from Cancun to Edmonton, but it must have some tangible details.

We don't want to end up like Alice, do we?

I look forward to connecting with you next Monday.  

"Helping you to the next level"