Here at www.sarahboxx.com, we talk a lot about life as a journey. Every journey has a starting point, a destination, and a path to get from A to Z. Sometimes the destination is clear and fixed. But sometimes it is a little muddled in the distance and we haven’t quite made it out yet. Still other times, we’re halfway through the trip before we realize that we need to change course for an entirely new destination.
No matter the journey, we all acknowledge that it is important to live with some sort of vision and passion that drives us forward. That is the first step toward defining our destination. But, as we set out on our journey, we can be sure that the journey will come with its fair share of road hazards – obstacles, detours, and challenges that we’ll face along the way. Usually these obstacles need to be overcome to reach our end goal. But, don’t miss that the obstacles have their own value … unless we successfully maneuver through them, we will fail to learn the lessons needed to achieve our goal.
As we wrap up this series on the challenges of the road, we thought it might be helpful to look back and summarize.
Evaluation and Planning. In June, we talked about a midyear review. Sometimes we need to slow down and lay more groundwork through assessing and planning. Setting off on a trip without a plan usually leads to wasted resources and even disaster.
Obstacles. Obstacles come to us in many forms. Some of our obstacles are personal fears or habits that limit us. In July, we talked about these obstacles in terms of assessing your strengths and weaknesses, using tools to help you grow, taking next steps, and surrounding yourself with the right people.
Other obstacles are environmental obstacles – those unexpected conditions, occurrences and circumstances that you have very little control over. Sometimes we need to do a better job of anticipating the road ahead; other times we need to employ more innovative problem solving to move forward. In August, we looked at different methods of problem solving including looking thru a new lens and employing perpendicular thinking.
Crossroads and Detours. In September, we zeroed in on the terrain. We do our best to anticipate the road ahead. This requires forward-thinking and planning. But sometimes we find ourselves on a new road altogether. It might be a permanent change or a new way to the same destination. If it’s a crossroads that will set us on an entirely new path to a new destination, it’s important that we surround ourselves with the right kind of people and resources to help us navigate the new territory. If it’s simply a detour, it is helpful to access what we can learn from this unexpected deviation.
When confronted with obstacles, problems and challenges, it’s easy to become a little overwhelmed, especially when the circumstances are unfamiliar and seem a little threatening and urgent. However, no matter what life throws at your along the road, keep in mind that there are always options available — there are always things you can do, actions you can take and decisions you can make that will keep moving you forward in the right direction.
Is there some way we can help you navigate your journey? Can we help you gain the necessary resources and/or support to get you to your next destination? Perhaps we can help you assess or give you new perspective. One easy way for you to do that is to sign up to get our blogs delivered straight to your inbox. It will keep you up to date when Sarah is offering a free resource or we’ve discovered some new insight that we want to share with you as fellow travelers.
You can do that right here:
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