Your Path Is Discovered, Not Planned

How do you account for what you have yet to experience and understand?

“We never know where life is going to lead... What so many small decisions are going to add up to.” ― Ali Standish

Are you trying to map out your path in life?

It won’t work. The path shifts soon after the first step is taken. In war, the best laid plans never survive contact with the enemy. The same is true of plans surviving contact with life.

There are simply too many variables to account for.

Consider the interplay of each action and reaction associated with each step along the path:

• You try something.

• There is a result.

• Life reacts in turn.

• You learn something.

• You reflect and accept.

• You decide on the next step.

You emerge stronger and wiser from each step. New skills and insights are picked up along the way. The footing becomes more secure. The direction becomes more certain.

Even so, unexpected barriers arise:

• A fallen tree creating an impasse

• A puddle of uncertain depth

• A storm obscuring the way

• An unexpected quagmire

Likewise, serendipity diverts:

• A fellow traveler you meet

• A strange, unfamiliar sight nearby

• A welcome campfire off in the distance

How do you account for what you have yet to experience and understand? Your path is discovered, not planned. It is only apparent when looking back from whence you came.

Fellow travelers, hear me! Stop planning and start walking. Choose one of countless stars to guide the way, but understand the path is winding and uncertain.

Your plans will not survive contact with life.

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🤔 Food for Thought:

Have you fallen victim to planning instead of walking?

What diversions have you encountered recently?

What North Star guides you on the path?

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⚙️ One Small Step:

If you are overplanning, consider taking a small step toward your North Star. Let everything else go. Make that step as firm as possible. Once made, reflect briefly on the result. It is neither good nor bad. Now, decide your next step.