Check The Map
Don't get so caught up in the journey that you forget to check you are on the right one
This year has been a busy one. That is one of those lines that is pretty needless to say, because what year of your life has not felt like a busy one? Life is a busy one. That does not change the fact though that this year has indeed been a busy one. This year marked the start of me re-embarking on a path of ambition – after finally hopping off of one last year that I felt was no longer serving me. I titled my quest this year: Conquer and Build 2023 – conquering in the arenas I have chosen to compete in, and beginning to build an empire for my family and myself. Well, with the last competition of the year in the books, it is now time to open up the backpack and check the map.
When you are charging ahead on the path, you cannot simultaneously check the map – it slows you down. Therefore it is essential that you stop – or at least slow down – when appropriate to check the map, to see whether you are still headed in the right direction. Having experienced before the costly lesson of realising I was walking a path I no longer desired to be on, or that I believed served me in any beneficial way, I will be damned if I work as hard I do, just to realise I have made the same error on the way up this mountain too. While I may not be able to put the brakes on fully, this December I will be slowing the ship down, before ramping it back up to full speed in the new year. I would encourage you to do the same.
Checking the map is a cute metaphor, but what does this actually look like? How do you check you are on the right path? An introspective process such as this is going to be very much individualised. However for me, it will include the following…
Time spent in meditation – whether it be active, passive, sober or aided by some psychedelic companions.
Taking lots of strolls in nature.
Reading a number of books – some whose content is in alignment with the path I am walking, and others whose content is in opposition of it.
Writing reams in the journal.
Re-reading previous journal entries over the years.
All of these actions, or absence of, are designed to allow me to look at the path I am on from a distanced, third party perspective. From this perspective I must speak to myself honestly about what I see. I must force myself to answer any difficult questions the picture presents. And I ultimately must exercise rational and moral judgment about how the course of the voyage needs to be altered in any way.
I firmly feel as though I am on the right path, however we as humans are brilliant at seducing our ego, and lying to ourselves. So I look forward to checking the map, and I would encourage everyone else as the year winds down, to do the same.
I hope your map shows you the path, and I hope you have a blessed December.