The famous mathematician, Archimedes said “the shortest distance between two points in a straight line.” And we, as humans have been trying to make the paths of our lives shorter for millennia. We want things quickly. We want them easily. And we want to put in the littlest amount of work possible.
I know I have been there too.
But unfortunately, when it comes to our goals… very rarely is it ever a straight line. In the financial world, I watch as stock markets look like rollercoasters- climbing, peaking, falling, climbing, falling. It is part of the process. In the fitness industry, I saw it with weight loss graphs- some days weight would drop, others it would wise. I see it when driving on 475 and have to detour to the other lane because they are working on the northbound lane. I see it on the look of my daughters face when she is understanding and memorizing her ABC’s then forgets and becomes frustrated, defeated. I saw this when I taught the writing process to college freshmen. We all think writing is linear. I brainstorm, I draft, I revise, I edit, I submit a final draft. But the truth it isn’t even close. New ideas will form as you write. You will edit and revise and edit and revise and edit and revise and brainstorm and edit and draft and edit and revise and brainstorm and edit and draft and draft and edit and revise and draft and brainstorm and edit and revise (did I make you dizzy yet) more times than you can count. The point is that your life and your goals are the same way. It is everywhere, it is dizzy, it is messy, it is able to be drafted and edited and go up and down in circles even.
Yes, we will have moments of ease and amazement, that seem too good to be true. Where the ride is smooth, steady, quick, painless. But remember we will also have times and seasons when things are twisting, turning, heading in the opposite direction.
The point is on difficult days, remember your goals and what you seek. Your “why” is important. It is the driving factor of why you started in the first place. Then seek coaching, guidance, accountability, assistance, or help. Maybe someone will be able to straighten out your path, align your wheels, or help turn you back in the right direction. Maybe someone will be able to cut the clutter, eliminate the distractions, find the slightly new path. Maybe someone will be able to just listen to what you are trying to make happen and allow the brainstorming to take place. Or maybe someone will know of a new better way to get to the same end result.
For those of you that must hear it today: Stay on the path, my friends, even when it is a crazy one. The end result will be worth it.
