Tag Archives: direction

“When you change direction radically, the loads can shift, and it can throw you off balance.”

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“When you change direction radically, the loads can shift, and it can throw you off balance.”

—Stephen St. Amant, author of the Savenwood Blog

Image from Unsplash by Mitchell Lou

Think of the many times you have been a passenger.

Include all forms of transportation, from the time you were a kid and went to an amusement park to the planes, trains, and automobiles we use today.

Recall some of the times when you experienced a radical change in direction in which the laws of physics jolted you and the things around you away from your previous trajectory.

How many spilled beverages and other unsecured items found a new home on your lap or the floor? Perhaps you even experienced a deployed airbag or a case of whiplash.

EXERCISE:

In what ways can you navigate the changes in the direction of your life more smoothly? How can you secure the things you value the most to not lose your balance when things begin to shift?

I am out with lanterns, looking for myself

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“I am out with lanterns, looking for myself.”

—Emily Dickenson, 19th Century American poet

Image from Unsplash by Julia Florczak

As a kid, my entire family spent July and August at Indian Lake Camp in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, swimming, boating, and participating in many other outdoor activities.

On evenings when our activities ended after dark, we made our way back to our cabins with our trusty flashlight complimenting the star-filled skies.

EXERCISE:

What flashlights and lanterns do you use to illuminate your paths in life?

To what degree are you clear about what you are looking for, and where you are headed?

It is good to have a compass to point the way

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It is good to have a compass to point the way. Hold your expectation lightly and be prepared for unexpected roadblocks and detours.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Jamie Street-

Throughout the Christmas holidays, many young children pointed their compasses toward the north pole and Santa. With high expectations for what they hoped to find under the tree, they have been pointing their recent efforts to both good decisions and behaviors.

Most of us have been disappointed by things not always turning out as we’d hoped. To navigate around various setbacks and point the way, it is helpful to keep our visions and values in mind.

Regardless of the direction we are headed, we can almost always “course correct” and find ways to give ourselves the gift of a more rewarding life.

EXERCISE:

What internal compass do you use to point the way?

How can you hold your expectations lightly and be more prepared for life’s unexpected roadblocks and detours?

Friday Review: Direction

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Friday Review: DIRECTION

How do you set and manage the direction of your personal or professional life? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

 

“It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly. Do not mistake activity for achievement.”

 

 

 

“Some people cross your path and change your whole direction.”

 

 

“Direction is so much more important than speed. Many are going nowhere fast.”

 

 

 

If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable

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“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.”

—Seneca, ancient Roman philosopher & statesman

Image from Unsplash by Christian Wiediger

What things in life get you excited and stir your passions? What activities and efforts really float your boat?  How fast and how far have these winds taken you personally and professionally?

Sometimes people find themselves adrift in the middle of nowhere without direction. They often feel lost at sea with a sense of queasiness and loneliness without a place to drop anchor. It’s at such times that our passions can be combined with the purpose of a north star to guide us home.

EXERCISE:

Where and how can you more fully combine both passion and purpose in your life to sail confidently and contently into the welcoming harbors of your world?

Carry a compass and let it point the way.

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Carry a compass and let it point the way.

Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Aaron Burden

Which navigation app do you prefer — Google Maps or Waze?

When was the last time you used an actual (paper) map? When, if ever, have you used a compass? I’d have to go back over 50 years to my Boy Scout days!

Getting from here to there by car has never been easier. Since Google owns both apps and has a virtual monopoly on the navigation market, they probably do not care much about which platform you choose. They win either way.

What navigation resources do you use to point you to the true north of your life? What forces and magnetic powers do you summon to show you the way? How do you find your way around the detours, roadblocks, potholes, and winding roads to get where you want to go?

EXERCISE:

What are the compasses you use to guide your life? How do they work to help you find your way in both the bright and dark aspects of your days?

“You cannot look in a new direction by looking harder in the same direction.”

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“You cannot look in a new direction by looking harder in the same direction.”

—Edward de Bono, Author of Six Thinking Hats

Image from Unsplash by marianne bos

Many of us are doing a lot more thinking about our thinking these days. With things changing all around us, most of us are taking significantly more time to explore our perspectives, attitudes, and values.

Where has this expanded and broader view taken you? Where are you simply looking harder in the same direction, hoping for the old normal?

EXERCISE:

How and in what ways can you move beyond looking harder in the same direction to take some new and courageous steps in a better direction?

Please reply to this post with any insights you are inspired to act upon today.

“Be your own compass.”

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“Be your own compass.”

—Author Unknown

Image from Unsplash by AbsolutVision

To what degree have you felt lost over the past several months?

Where did you once have clarity in your life, and to what extent do things now seem to be foggy?

Now is the time to be your own compass, to verify your “True North” and set forth with more confidence and commitment.

What are the values, beliefs, and priorities that generate the magnetic field within you, keeping you on course regardless of small or mountainous issues along the way?

EXERCISE:

How do you know when you are on the right path?

What personal or professional adjustments will you make today to better follow your own inner compass?

“The best way to ride a horse is in the direction in which it is going.”

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“The best way to ride a horse is in the direction in which it is going.”

—Author Unknown

Image from Unsplash by Annika Treial

A fair percentage of the coaching engagements I’ve been involved in over the years have related to career transitions. Two common terms for such assignments are on-boarding and assimilation coaching.

One of the more challenging and often stressful assignments is when a new leader or team is brought in to “turn around” an organization. In such situations the company/horse and the vast number of employees/riders are headed in different directions.

These assignments almost always involve casting a more inspiring vision and enrolling others in changing direction toward a better future.

EXERCISE:

Assuming you are proactively taking steps to lead and manage your own career trajectory, what strategies and tactics can and will you take to lasso those horses and get in the saddle of those headed in a direction you would like to travel?

“Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor.”

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“Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor.”

—Brian Tracy, Canadian-American motivational speaker/author

Image from Unsplash by Isaac Smith

Do yourself a big favor and set some worthy goals for the new year.

If you are like many of us, you are thinking, I do this every year, or maybe why bother?

Perhaps, like many people, you stick to your resolutions until sometime in February, when things fall apart due to bad weather, waning discipline, or competing priorities at home or work.

Whatever you do or don’t do, you can bet that changes are coming. The question to ask yourself is whether you are going to control their direction, or simply react to whatever comes your way.

EXERCISE:

Please consider improving your odds of success by adding a variety of social and structural supports. To learn more about how to do this, put the book Influencer – The Power to Change Anything on your holiday and new year reading list.