Do you enjoy the journey of life? Or do you dream of having more? Would you like more money, more success, more happiness, more friends?
Dreams are good and aiming for more is great, but not if you are sacrificing the present moment by always thinking of the future.
Enjoying the journey of life towards any goal is so important. When you embrace ‘now’ and find joy in your current situation, you will see opportunities and learning experiences all around you. Taking time to enjoy the journey of life, allows us to remain calm even when times are tough. Enjoying the journey is also where you will find happiness.
If the journey is so positive, then why is it so hard to let go and just be? Here are common traits I see :
You Feel Lost
If your journey seems aimless, it’s probably because you’re not clear on your goals and you don’t have a daily process to follow. Create reminders of what you’re aiming for as part of your daily journey, for example, design a vision board; journal what you have achieved each day as a positive way to mark your progress toward those dreams.
You Feel Inadequate
If you feel you never have the right tools, the right answers, or the right skills for anything, instead of blaming the journey, it might be time to reassess how you’re making the journey in the first place. Use this feeling of inadequacy to develop mastery. Make learning a part of your journey (whether formal or informal) and keep it fun. Take classes, read books, get a mentor. Do whatever it takes to give yourself the skillset you need to take yourself to the next level.
You Feel Trapped
If your journey is nothing but the same old routine day in and day out, you might be feeling burned out and dismal. If your life has gone stagnant, it’s time to liven it up. Journeys should include adventures. Think of something you can do today that you haven’t done before. Incorporate spontaneity into your daily journey in small ways. Order something different for lunch. Drive a new way to work. Call an old friend you haven’t talked to for a while. Take a walk choosing a new path. The key here is to make things fresh and interesting.
You Don’t Think You’re Making Progress
If you’re feeling stuck, you might want to stop and give yourself a self-assessment. Is it possible you’re not seeing the progress you’re making? Look at where you were in your life at this time last week, last month, or even last year. How have you changed in this time? What’s different now, which wasn’t a thing in the past? If it does turn out you haven’t been growing much in this time, ask yourself the hard questions. What kind of person do you want to be? What traits does this person have? Think about adding in some new habits to push yourself in the desired direction. The key here is to start small. Change never happens overnight, but it does happen if you’re consistent about what you’re doing.
You’ve Gotten Sidelined On Your Journey
This especially happens if a crisis puts a halt to your life. If this is the case, you need to be gentle with yourself. Give yourself the time off and accept that you’re going to have to live from moment to moment for a bit. And for now, this is part of your journey, it won’t always be the case. The time will come when the crisis point passes and life will resume. Of course, your journey probably won’t look like the journey you were on before the crisis, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. View this as an opportunity to build a better journey, using what you’ve learned during the hard times.
You Can No Longer Make Your Goal
It happens. Sometimes the goal you set for yourself is no longer practical. Believe it or not, it’s okay to abandon your goal completely if this is the case. At the same time, a journey can feel especially hard if you have no goal at all. Why make the journey at all if there’s no destination? If you’re feeling this way, remember embracing the journey makes the goal irrelevant. You’re enjoying where you are, right now at this moment. You don’t always need a goal to have a happy, productive, and fruitful life. You really can just be, enjoying each new day as it comes. If this scares you, ask yourself why. The answer might surprise you.
Journeys Feel Lonely
If you think focusing on the journey is a solitary exercise, you’re wrong. Just because a journey is a personal thing, there’s no reason to think it can’t involve other people. On the contrary, your journey is all about how you live your life. Think of it this way: other people have journeys too, but there comes a time when their journey will intersect with yours. Sometimes those cross points are small (such as chance encounter), and other times your join journeys might intersect for months or even years.
Talk to people. Tell them you want to focus on the journey and invite them to come along with you for the ride. Then be open to all the ways you might enjoy being part of their journey in return.
If you’re struggling with your journey, consider talking to a professional Life Coach. We are trained to guide people through their life journey back onto the path that leads to contentment and satisfaction.
