The Natural Next Step
August 8, 2020 • Conversations on the Spiritual Path, Learn
What do I do next? Where am I going in my life? What is my next step in my career?
Often in life most people struggle with what to do next in their life. Forget what to do next, most people struggle with what to do with their life now.
When we have a bigger overview picture of our life then knowing what to do next becomes much easier. When you have a clear vision of what your life is about it is very easy to know what the next step is in life and what to focus on. How to take the next step or figuring what is involved in taking the next step may need some thinking through but the next step will almost always be obvious.
If I want to climb Mount Everest and that was my goal or purpose then figuring out the next step is very easy. I would not fly to Nairobi or Sydney or Honolulu. I would fly to Kathmandu. From there I would take a short flight to Lukla, then trek about 10 days to Everest Base Camp. From here I would begin my journey to the peak.
The clarity of my goal to climb Mount Everest (ps. I don’t have a goal to climb Everest) allows me then to easily outline the path to that goal. Obviously there are many things I would need to figure out such as “how am I getting to Kathmandu?”, “What should I pack for my journey?” and so forth. But these questions are easier to find the answers to.
And when I get to Kathmandu then the next question to ask myself is “How will I get from Kathmandu to Lukha?”
I never really have trouble figuring out my next step. That is almost always obvious. I just need to figure the details of getting to my next step which I can always seek help from people around me. And if I am clear of my goal but am not clear of one of the steps in getting to that goal then I can ask for help and guidance as well because there is a high chance that others have done it before me and I can learn from them.
But if I had no idea what my goal is then I would never know what the next step to take is. Instead, I would just take an opportunity that presented itself to me. And many people look at opportunities as a good thing. But an opportunity is not an opportunity if it is not aligned with your goals or purpose.
Most people just go from one “opportunity” to the next because they have no idea where they are going in life. Life is too precious to live this way.
Be intentional with how you live your life. In order to be intentional, we must have clarity of what we want in this life. Crystal clear clarity. Define your goals in detail. Define your purpose in life. Then outline the path to it.
Now you will know what to do next in life.
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