When you don’t know where you are going, you need help. You need a map, a GPS, or a guide that’s been there before.
Just like on a road trip to a place you have not yet been, you will face challenges and seasons in life that you have never encountered before.
Will you ask for directions or try to figure it out on your own?
Map = research YouTube, piece together different disjointed things
GPS= reading a book, “How to do it step by step” One size fits all. Take a self-paced course.
Guide= Coach to determine where you want to go, help you come up with a plan, recognize your obstacles, and walk you through step by step. A community to join, a group coaching opportunity to do life together on the journey with friends.
Use a Map
Does anyone remember “back in the day” when you had a map in the glove box? The kind that was compactly and tightly folded at the store when you bought it but never returned to its original shape?
One of the problems with these Rand McNally maps was reading them. While driving.
Or, if you were the passenger riding shotgun, trying to translate them to the driver without an argument.
Using a map took some preparation. Usually, you would lay out the map on the kitchen table and highlight the route you would plan to take with a red pen.
The problem was, you would have to consult the map over and over during the trip, and since it was printed quite some time ago there was a chance it was obsolete. New roads may have been re-routes of old roads, and there was no way to know if a highway was under construction or washed out from last year’s floods.
When you are facing a life season change or transition, it can feel like you are looking at a map with no clear path and a lot of distractions and conflicting information.
When you are facing a life season change or transition, it can feel like you are looking at a map with no clear path and a lot of distractions and conflicting information.
You can Google how to navigate this life season and try to piece it together with a variety of opinions, perspectives, and information. There’s just so.much.noise! You can narrow it down to a few voices that seem to resonate and try to take their road. Then you get detoured by someone with a better route.
There’s an old saying in Vermont where I grew up. “You can’t get there from here”.
You end up more confused and lost than when you started.
Map = research, piece together different disjointed things
GPS Saved Us From Asking for Directions
Put that map in the glove box and leave it there! Even though we now don’t have to map the route in advance. We still need to know where we want to go and approximately how long it will take to get there.
The problem with GPS is that it is very logic-oriented and doesn’t account for human feelings. You can choose the “voice” you want to hear coming out of your speakers but it’s not a conversation. That’s why we get frustrated with “RE-CALCULATING” when we take a wrong turn because we think our GPS is upset with us.
The early GPS systems were primitive by today’s standards. Remember TomTom?
My adult daughter and I flew into Albany, NY, and were heading to Vermont- a fairly rural area, but a well-traveled road. The scenery in the late afternoon was beautiful and it was an enjoyable ride. We had a ferry reservation to cross the lake and then a short drive to our destination.
The sunset was spectacular and the TomTom device showed us where to go with the triangle-shaped “car” on the road graphic that would stretch out ahead on the display every so often. (No voice, that tech came later).
It got dark quickly. The gorgeous country roads with overhanging trees now seemed like deep woods on either side. A light rain started. And fog.
We drove on with an approximate sense of where we were based on the time we had estimated it would take us. But we were not 100% sure we were on the right road.
What if we weren’t paying attention and missed a turn? At what point do you continue on in uncertainty without going back to the last place you felt “safe”?
It felt like we were heading into a dead-end in a horror movie. As the road turned sharply to the right, the TomTom went totally black…
We could see the glow of light just over the rise and realized we were at the ferry dock, right on time.
GPS has come a long way, but it’s still input/ output. The global system is smart enough to tell you where you need to go based on the information you give it, but it still doesn’t consider how stressful it is for you to follow directions in an unfamiliar place.
I want my GPS to say, “You are going to take the next left on this road that does not have a street sign and really looks like you are pulling into a driveway, but just trust me- it’ll be okay”.
GPS= reading a book, “How to do it step by step” One size fits all. Take a self-paced course.
Get a Guide to Ask for Directions
You want to ask for directions from a guide that has been where you want to go. The limitation with maps and GPS is that you are never quite sure that you are going in the right direction because you haven’t been there before.
A guide can tell you to stop for food or gas at strategic places so you don’t run out when those resources are not available.
A guide can help you navigate setbacks, detours, and unexpected construction. And, they can tell you when it’s safe to accelerate.
Guide= Coach to determine where you want to go, help you come up with a plan, recognize your obstacles, and walk you through step by step.
Uncertainty is uncomfortable, in life and on road trips! Think about how comforting it is knowing that there are many friends going in the same direction as you are. Someone is there to help if you feel lost, stuck, or need help.
Often, we let our self-reliance or lack of trust keep us from taking a chance to get the help we want and need.
(And the stereotype says that MEN refuse to ask for directions…).
Take the next small step in the direction you want to go:
Join Someday:the8thdayoftheweek It’s my private FaceBook group full of friends who would love to join you on your journey.
We talk about “Someday” as if it’s the 8th day of the week. Day after day goes by and you stay in your routine that is familiar and comfortable while dreaming of someday…
When you experience a life change you may feel uncertain, uneasy, or dissatisfied.
These are hard feelings, but they can be good if they move you forward in your ongoing journey to new possibilities!
Join a group of friends that understand where you are, and they get you.
We’ll encourage each other as we find our voices, dream our big dreams, and figure out the best route to reach our goals.
Let’s take a road trip together as we set our GPS to our “Someday” dream- the destination where your purpose lives.
We’ll share some road snackable wisdom with each other along the way.
Road trips are always better with friends, especially when we have to navigate some detours and construction.
I call shotgun!!!
Tell me your story! I offer FREE 30-minute coaching calls. If you know where you want to go, but can’t seem to get there- or if you are feeling stuck in the mud and need a push or pull out of the rut, let’s talk!
If you are just “kicking the tires” and wondering if you are road trip ready- I get it! You can just listen in for more inspiration here: SUBSCRIBE
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