How do we find the “true north” to achieving our goals?
The reality is that in moving on down the roads of our
journeys, we gain and lose ground. All is aligned with great momentum one
moment. Then in the next we get misdirected and wonder how we’ll find our way. And
most times we eventually do get there, somehow. Leading us to ponder, is there
a life GPS to keep us on course?
I’ve surmised that we all have an IPS (Internal Positioning
System) to steer us. If we engage it. Just like an automobile’s navigation
system— with its GPS, dashboard and features— we too can punch in coordinates
for where we want to go in life. We have attributes, strengths and limitations
that direct us. Our motivations, habits or wits contribute to how we handle the
inevitable bumpy roads. Destinations for our career, family, health, quality of
life or relationship goals – we can arrive at these places, based on how we
deploy the elements of our IPS’s dashboard.
Yet, I’ve found that this IPS, like GPS technology, has
worked for me sometimes and malfunctioned others. In my car, when the quirky
voice of the dashboard is silent, I check to see if the GPS is on. Particularly
if I’m in unfamiliar territory. In my
life, if I’m not adhering to right messages, I sense a system failure; the
signal for me then is that maybe my IPS is not on. I feel lost, literally, on my life quest. Is
this a place I need to explore more, I question.
OR
Maybe I need to Press!
So what
are three parts of the on button for syncing that IPS?
 |
| The road I grew up on |
1. Discover Your Unique Routing. Understanding
how our life works in terms of its unique cycles
and circumstances provides a map for focus. Why so? Knowing the design of our
route helps us navigate and heed the messages in the hills and potholes of life. I have come to realize that an off road
collision in a low place is part of my special path before I slowly make my way
out to higher ground and another level that God has waiting for me. Also moving through the roadways of our journey we
hold different emotions and experiences that bring out our strengths as well as
our frailties. At times, I get sidetracked here, but this history accumulates,
becoming my cargo as I launch in another direction. Whether it’s good or bad we
all carry this load. And it can keep us on a realistic route, as we define
success.
- What’s the Force That’s With You? This IPS is part of our drive, an engine that fuels us every day. It takes us through storms and other bad conditions. Our IPS is composed of ‘gifts and wits’, perspectives, willingness to admit and learn from mistakes, humor, gratitude, wisdom, faith and the list…goes on. These are the blocks of our being, in varying quantities. A good deal of this force comes from our early life values and grounding. Raised poor, Baptist, in a rural town, but instilled with hope for better times, and family who encourage me to “git my lessin”, equipped me to set out on my sojourns of twists and turns. With accomplishments and failures. There's power in both of these for us, ignited from this combustible combination.
3.
Recognize Your Hardwiring. What’s inbred in our natural circuits? There’s a DNA that makes and
shapes us to be. I often share that at my core, I’m the oldest child product of
a determined single parent teen mother. With no excuses, she burrowed her way
through many adversities on her journey. After she passed in 2010, I reflected
on what she’d left me, spiritually. I
share in my motivational memoir, Navigating Life’s Roadways, that she provided
an example of sheer will and a strong work ethic for me. And I think of this
when I get stuck or waylaid in my life. She taught me to drive, pass some of
life’s tests and now has turned the steering wheel over to me— to keep going. The
operating hardware and software of her IPS (Internal Positioning System)
spiritually resides on my dashboard, with God —my ever present Pilot, the main
engaging button. I've found that there's an automatic syncing coming out of this type of recognition, which will stand the hard inspections of our many journeys.
Press On Through Storms, Sync your Success and Drive to Your Best!
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