Changing lanes and Twisting Turns

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

What do you do when life makes you change directions?  We all have plans, or at least we should.  Dreams and goals motivate us and drive us forward; otherwise we’d all be sitting on the couch watching TV.  And if we’re smart, we take that motivation fostered by our dreams and goals and work toward success.  Sometimes it takes a lifetime to achieve, and sometimes we never quite actually get there, but part of the value of the whole endeavor is the experience we gain along the way.  But what happens when those dreams and goals become unattainable?  What if after you’ve put forth so much effort, time, and energy you realize it will never happen? 

You have to change lanes.  The old saying is ‘life’s a journey, not a destination’ but it’s really easy to use the analogy of a life being like a highway.  Sometimes, while driving down that highway of life, you have to change lanes just to keep going.  It might be unpleasant, and it might certainly be not what you wanted, but changing direction, focus, your goal, you might just realize you were headed in the wrong direction all that time before.  My greatest fear is that I won’t live up to my potential.  It bothers me sometimes and I worry that my choices have all been wrong and I’m wasting my time in life.  But then there are some shining examples in my life of greatness (not trying to toot my own horn here) and I realize that it isn’t all bad, some of it is pretty great. 

But how do we know what direct to take if our purpose in life is now different, changed or even gone?  That can be a hard question to ask and answer.  Remember that your life is the sum of all your experiences.  If you take a look at them and realize those experiences are negative, it’s time to reevaluate yourself, your choices and your motivations.  That new path could finally lead you to a more positive life.  If your experiences are overwhelmingly positive, yet you feel lost because your goals are now unattainable, remember that you are the master of your own life.  You can choose a new path, one that matters to you, has meaning and depth.  Now it might take a while for that path to reveal itself, but keeping an open mind is an absolute necessity. 

If you’re not paying attention to exit signs, you might just blow past your next great adventure without even realizing it!

Thanks for reading!