Saturday 8th December 2008
Purpose Street
Well I’m back from what has been an amazing 6-week journey, not just for the sights and cities but for the experiences, cultures and having the time to slow down a little, gain some clarity and refocus on where I am going in life. Enough about me and my wonderful adventures - well until later.
How quickly the years go by, there seems to be this uncontrollable momentum of pace in everything we do these days, it’s gaining momentum rapidly and I can’t see it slowing down in the near future. There’s a real danger with this predicament, the fact that we are now living life at such a hectic pace I believe we are missing the point of what life ts all about - To enjoy the journey.
I had never used a GPS until recently, for those of you who have never used one or don’t know much about them, what happens (simplest description) is you enter in the address or location you are wanting to drive to and the GPS will calculate the quickest and most efficient route. As you drive there is a voice (English Emily) that tells you where to go. It’s brilliant, especially if you don’t have great sense of direction or any idea of where you are heading. The best thing is even when you take a wrong turn it recalculates itself, points you in the right direction and you can continue on your journey again. It’s quite simple yet so effective. (In fact this little piece of equipment could be for some - a real marriage saver).
Using the GPS as a metaphor for life, how many of us go through life relying on other sources to keep us on the right path. Some people just follow the flow hoping to strike it lucky; others drive erratically trying to get to their destination not thinking about the damage they are causing behind them or what energy they are using inefficiently just trying to take short cuts. Like the GPS you need to work out where you want to go so when things go wrong you can recalculate and find the most efficient way.
(Back to the GPS story) so out we head for what is to be a wonderful days drive through the brilliant mountains and quaint villages taking in the sights, it was just awesome, until I took a wrong turn. That’s when my relationship with Emily (GPS) started to be tested; as she was recalculating she become all temperamental and her satellite reception dropped out (she was giving me the silent treatment). All of a sudden this wonderful piece of equipment no longer wanted to communication with the universe or me for that matter, no one told me this could happen. As I went into panic mode and start cursing our English Emily I realised how much we can rely on someone or something else to control our journey.
How often do you go through life just following a trend or the in-thing of what others are doing and not really thinking about what it is you really want. Like the GPS sometimes we enter in the address of what we want to achieve then go into autopilot mode hoping that someone or something will do it for us.
Have you lost satellite reception?
Do you have a plan B, a recalculating process that enables you to regain focus or do you just give up and settle for something less. We all want our journey to be as smooth and as incident free as possible but sometimes things just don’t go to plan, so what do you do? You can reprogram your in-built GPS, wait for it to pick up the satellite reception (Re-planning) then continue back on your journey again or you can get so annoyed, frustrated and disheartened that you stop pursuing your dream.
The choice is yours - the sad thing is, most people settle for the easy option, they stop pursuing their dreams, aspirations and goals, they settle for mediocrity because they have lost the passion for the journey.
No matter what, there are always going to be times when you take a wrong turn or hit one of life’s cul-de-sacs. At times things may even seem to be out of control but you know what - You can always recalculate, turn the vehicle around and get back on the road to “Purpose Street”.
Life’s journey can be a scenic drive if and when you have purpose, what I mean by this is when you know what you want, you should pursue it with passion. You don’t have to have major earth shattering dreams just something that inspires YOU to be your best. When you have this passion you will find the drive so much more enjoyable.
Be your own GPS, set your sights on your purpose in life, find the best route and if and when things do get hectic remember to recalculate your homing device back to your purpose and enjoy the journey.
Happy motoring.
I honestly believe anyone can become great. Most of us understand what it takes to become great but it’s the thought of putting that knowledge into action.
“The great end of life is not knowledge but action”.
Thomas H. Huxley
Are situations really what they seem?
I was chatting to a friend they were saying how they had someone fill in for their tennis team (which was great of that person) but the problem was they were uninterested, lazy and had a negative attitude and upset the team dynamics.
I am always amazed by the attitudes of some people when they are asked to perform someone else’s responsibility for a while. So I’m asked to fill in for someone who is sick or away whether it is at work, playing sport or some other area of life. Don’t say yes if you really don’t want to.
My question is why would you volunteer to play in someone else’s team if you are not willing to put in an effort?
This seems to happen quite a bit and it doesn’t make much sense. If you are asked to fill in for someone and you didn’t want to - say no (I understand sometimes we might not have that choice) saying yes just to keep the peace is often doing more harm (for both parties) than good. Let’s say you had no choice and were asked to fill in for someone, this role was one that are not used to. Like anyone you would feel a little uncomfortable, a little stretched shall we say. You have two choices you can make one of poor old me or the other of it has to be done, so lets accept it as a challenge and endeavour to do my best.
The easy option would be to use it as an excuse not to try because it’s not a permanent thing so what’s the point of busting my butt but it’s really a matter of attitude and how you look at things. Some people have a great attitude and they just get on with things where others tend to “carry-on” as if their world has been torn apart.
Having a positive attitude can be the difference between you going back to where you have always been or being noticed. What if you decided - ok I’m going to do the best?
What could happen?
Here’s a scary thought, you could actually be seen as the right person for the position where prior to this "unfortunate situation", no one had even given you a thought. I remember a time when I was playing football (a few years ago now) and a first grade player was omitted late on game day, a younger player was called up to fill in his spot. This younger player had the choice either to do a good job or just fill in because he might not be there the following week. Fortunately to his credit he took on the challenge with a positive attitude, did a great job and from that day continued to play at the first grade level and onto a successful career.
The point – Look at the opportunities that come your way, do the best you can with them for you never know where it can take you.
