Chapter 15. Where are you going?
Journal work
First, spend five minutes reflecting on your life. Consider all aspects:
your way of being in the world; your work; your relationships; your
leisure time; your passions; your successes and failures. Now write a
paragraph of about 400 words that concisely answers this question:
Where are you now?Picture this: you wake up to the alarm. You stretch leisurely, smile to yourself and
jump out of bed. The cold tiles shock your feet slightly. As you shower, you briefly
consider the journey ahead. You dress quickly. You glance in the mirror – as always
the sight of you in your uniform gives you a thrill. On the way to your workplace you
focus on calming and grounding yourself and your emotions. It’s a big day ahead.
When you arrive, you are comforted by the buzz and focused energy of the hundreds
of people you see. You slip efficiently through the staff entrance. At your locker, you
carefully read all the reports and nod your head in satisfaction. All is ready. The long
corridors take you to the small room where you’ll be spending the next few hours.
You go through the standard checks with focused determination. A uniformed smile
opens the door and announces that all 300 of them are present and accounted for
and the plane is ready for take-off. You turn to your co-pilot and ask, “Where shall
we go today?”
Fortunately this doesn’t happen in reality. A pilot has a detailed flight plan and
knows exactly where to go. In the same way, you are the pilot of your life. Are you
efficiently steering yourself closer to your destination? Are you enjoying
the journey?
Are you a “Make it happen” person or a “Wonder what happened?” person?
There is no law against sitting back and seeing where life takes you and certainly this
is a valid choice every now and again. However, this way of being in the world dis-
empowers you. You’re at the mercy of life’s whims. I’m wondering how motivated
you’ll feel if you’re not sure where you’re going and what life will throw at you next.
It’s difficult to muster up enthusiasm for something unknown.
You may argue that life will throw things at you anyway. Yes, I agree. However, if you
have a plan for your life you may handle these interruptions more easily and can