Throughout our lives we're going to find different inflection points where we wonder if there's a different path that we should take. Looking to see if there is a better alternative for the situation that we’re in. That ambition might drive you to want something more, something better. This need for growth keeps you seeking new opportunities. Maybe what you're doing now is not exciting you anymore or maybe it was never exciting for you. There might come a time when you're questioning what you're doing with your life, and this is a great opportunity to see what it is you really want. Sometimes you know what that is and sometimes you don't but this is a great chance so you can try new things to find what really gets you going.
And as we all know we don't have all the answers to our own lives as we're trying to figure it out as we go. This could be things like deciding what to do for a living or how we decide to live, we always can change it taking multiple different paths. That our trajectory is not in a straight line upward but many times it's going through those downward phases where we come to find out more about ourselves and we learn new things along the way. While in the short term this might seem like it's not getting you to what you want or maybe what you need it's still a chance to experience something to add your perspective. Where you're bouncing from one thing to another and this could be in the different jobs that you take, the different careers that you try or different business adventures.
Naturally when you haven't found that thing that really grips and inspires you to go at things with such passion and energy it can feel like you're not making the progress that you want or on track to what you think we should be. Just tell yourself that it's OK to take the nonlinear path where you're doing completely different things. This could be pursuing a career in finances only to find out that maybe that's not the best fit for you. You can always jump into something else such as carpentry, working in engineering, working in hospitality, healthcare, or technology.
The thing that you choose to do right now is not set in stone that you must follow it for the rest of your life. Even if it's a chosen degree of study that you're currently in or that you've already completed. These things do not lock you into only using that knowledge and skills for that specific field. In fact, it might give you an advantage moving from a certain field to another because you can take and translate many of the concepts that you've utilized before to come up with innovative solutions to what you decide to go with.
You control your life, and you can drive it how you see fit. Sometimes when you try one thing you might realize within a few weeks or a few months maybe that's not something you envision for yourself or maybe you've done it for a few years and know that it's OK to move on to something else. I think for the most part jumping from one thing to another is stigmatized because it shows a level of inconsistency in the decisions we make or about our character. Others could see us as being indecisive, not being willing to stick to a certain decision but here's the thing, who cares what they think we're not there to put on a front to pretend to be something that we're not. Our aim is not to satisfy them but to satisfy ourselves through what we decide to pursue.
It's not one size fits all
That general path of going to school whether you go to college or not, there's the assumption that a certain set of steps need to be taken to make sure you're on the right course. The common things like finding yourself a steady and secure job or career where you can dedicate your whole life to it and work for retirement. Getting married at a certain age, having kids at a certain age, buying a home at a certain age. This doesn't need to be for everybody and it's not on the same timeline that the next person has done it in. One of the more common things that when you come to meet new people is that they tend to ask what you do for a living, so we've been conditioned to see somebody in the light of how they make a living.
And maybe they might be genuinely interested in just what you do but it in a way it's almost like they're trying to gather information to form some sort of opinion about you. That the more significant responsibilities you have the greater respect is deserved out of default. This just feeds more into the hierarchy that builds up that viewpoint of I'm better than others because of the work that I do or the work that I do is so much more significant than others. People are a lot more willing to say what they do if they feel that others might find it significant. And that's where we get in trouble of letting what we do of that specific title attach it to who we are but that's only looking what's on the surface.
Break free from needing to go this route. Go for what works for you and not what commands the most respect from others. When you can come to value and respect what you do, everybody's viewpoint becomes irrelevant and you're free to pursue it to the fullest. The next time somebody asks you what do you do for a living, say I enjoy writing novels or I enjoy spending time tending to my garden because it relaxes me. Talk about the things that you enjoy doing. This might throw them off as they're not going to be expecting a response like that but doing this helps us break free from that superficial mode that we're in and we can then better embrace that nonlinear path if we decide to pursue it.
There are times where that linear path that we might envision seems to be safe because it gives us a level of certainty. It gives us that level of security knowing what is to come. This is especially true when it comes to how you make your living. We want to make sure we have enough and maybe even more than enough money to buy the necessities and a little bit more. Once we do find a level of this security it can be difficult to give up. The sooner you become more accustomed to it, it becomes a lot more difficult to try to veer off from this because that thinking comes in if the next move I make doesn't turn out well, I'll always have that thought that I had it good before why would I give up something like that. Where we would be looking back on what we gave up instead of looking forward to what more can be gained from the experience that we decided to pursue. That backward facing view can make us beat ourselves up that is unnecessary.
Understand what you like and don’t like
Condition yourself to know that it's OK to take that nonlinear path. First off just start by looking into the things that grab your interest and run with it. Take a deep dive into it where you’re immersing yourself, thinking and learning more about it. This makes you take the initiative so you can gain more information. And information is a commodity because it's so valuable, the only thing is that you have to sift through it to see how you can apply that information and use it to your advantage. Getting yourself going in this type of manner helps you take charge of things in your life, where you decide to know what things to pursue and what not to.
This gives you a better understanding of the things that motivate you to do what you do because you’ll know the things that you like and don’t’ like. So, you become clearer of what you're working towards and what you're working away from. And this can be a huge transformation to how you operate because you'll know what things to actually focus your time and energy on and what things are actually nonsense that needs to be removed from your line of focus. Because of this you'll trust yourself more where you have better conviction in the decisions you make.
When you recognize what you don’t like you can move on from it to better utilize your time. Sometimes in trying new things you find out that is not a good fit and that’s okay. Now moving on just because things are hard or it’s not going your way is not going to benefit you but when you know when it’s time to move on you retain the trust with yourself. When you realize when it's time to move on you'll be better for it. You'll still be able to have that trust within yourself but have the discipline to stick with things if you really have a desire to pursue it for the right reasons.
You can avoid beating yourself up for saying you're a quitter but instead recognize how much wisdom you gain because things are just not working out to help you develop. This is interesting because this has been stigmatized a bit where if you can't cut it where you're at then you're never going to make it somewhere else. If you look at those football players like Joe Burrow who started his collegiate career at Ohio State, things didn't work out there but then he eventually transferred to LSU and led them to winning a national title.
Or Jalen Hurts who was a three-year starter for the University of Alabama and then he was replaced by Tua Tagaviloa. Jalen did stay one more year to fuel his development but from there he transferred to University of Oklahoma ascended even further and then went on to the NFL to help his team play in the Super bowl. These cases help reinforce that it's OK to move on to a new location, to start something new. It's a chance for a fresh start to reset and build yourself up even further. That thinking of if you quit now you'll be a quitter later on. No, it is recognizing when it is time to move on because it is not serving you the way you need it to.
Focus on the long-term
What is also going to help you to move on to something else and try these different things is to have that long term view of what you envision. Instead of just focusing on how you're feeling right now, think about how taking on a new path will benefit you years and decades down the line. Sometimes we just must go through that discomfort and growing pains to get to a better place. Those days where you find yourself thinking, what did I get myself into, just try to think about what you're gaining now to be better for it later. Now obviously as you're going through it, it can be frustrating and maddening at times so find ways that you can calm yourself down and gain that perspective.
As you go through trying one thing to another know that it can feel as though that next step was one that feels like you are going backwards. If you can work through it and stick with it enough to gain some sort of value out of it whether it's new relationships that you form or new skills and information that you gain. It can be added to your arsenal kit that makes you more diversified to take on new and different things. While you might have this big ambition of wanting to achieve great things, make sure to not let the ego think you are above anything.
It's very beneficial for us when we can stay grounded but maintain that confidence within ourselves to be able to get the dirty work done. This might mean taking on a job where you’re taking out the trash, cleaning the bathrooms, if you're working with animals maybe you're in a barn shoveling horse manure from the stalls or pressure washing the roofs of buildings or homes. These are great opportunities to strengthen that grit and it shows a level of willingness to be able to get things done even though you're not looking forward to that specific job.
It might turn out that you become a leader of an organization such as a CEO of a company and being willing to embrace the hard things that are unpleasant can give you more credibility because those that you lead, you’ll be able to relate more with them and this can lead to better relationships. The better the relationship, the more they are willing to do that makes the difference. You’ll better be able to listen to concerns and suggestions that team members bring up that can lead to innovative solutions. What we'll all find out is that great work is done through a unified team and not individuals alone. So, as you're working your way up doing these types of things that are not the most glamorous it's going to broaden your horizons for situations that you worked yourself into.
It builds a desire
That nonlinear path is building that desire, that urge to want more. You're going to seek it and it's going to push you outside your comfort zone that forces you to grow and develop. You are going to find out more things about yourself and have a better understanding of why you do what you do. This is a key part to our development that tends to be overlooked because more emphasis is put on gaining specific knowledge and skills to become more valuable which is a great thing to have but when we can gauge how much failure that we can handle, how much hardships that we can handle, how much uncertainty handle, we build ourselves up to handle the long, tough road instead of only relaying on the finesse that was gained.
Think of this in the way of hockey where yes more skills such as skating faster and handling the puck is going to benefit you but there's just going to come a point in time where you just have to continuously do the dirty work where you're blocking pucks with your body, you're taking those very painful hits, you’re clearing the puck out of your zone, making the opposing team retreat and just shooting pucks over and over and over again, where they get blocked one after another until finally you score. There's very little substitute for just this repeated effort of just continuously going at it and while yes you can do certain things strategically to help better position yourself. They're still going to come those times where you just must get in there and get dirty. Where that effort is not paying off right away but you're building towards a breaking through.
When you can get in this type of mode of just being tenacious the hard things are not going to intimidate you anymore, in fact you're just going to embrace it. Where you say yeah so what, bring it on, let's continue to make this thing happen. Where mentally you become sharper and stronger because that beating that you have taken has developed that composure to not let emotions dictate you, but your resolve is what leads the way. Getting to this point will take time and will be difficult but once you can, you’ll start to reap the rewards. You’ll be more invigorated by just being able to stick with it and having that fierce intensity that you now operate with.
It’s almost like you're break through to a new world of determination and persistence where you know things will be difficult and you don’t even flinch. You might even relish the hard part because that is where the satisfaction will come from. This will transform you to take on whatever you decide. Where those big ideas might have seemed crazy at first only for you to have found out that it is truly possible and that it's within your reach. But this tends to come from being able take those chances on yourself to try different things to leave what is familiar and safe to explore new worlds.
Final thoughts
Have your sights set on what your heart wants and don't try to convince yourself or let others convince you that it's impossible or that's unreasonable. When you know what you want you may not know exactly how things are going to play out so embrace those ups and downs because they will come. It may take a lot longer than you might have anticipated but keep that fire to fuel you to keep going. Fortune favors the bold because of their willingness to follow their ambition in the face of uncertainty and risks. Being able to stomach those head turning obstacles will make the safe retreat while those that are willing to see it through are those that will capture ferocity for life.
It's going to be important to manage that want for something more, so it does not turn into recklessness with being a bit more calculated with your decisions and the actions that you take. When you know why you do what you do you can strike with higher precision that's going to lead to progress in your life. So, this means when you reflect back on what you've done you'll be a lot more satisfied as opposed to questioning what was I thinking. Your growth will not solely be up in a straight line but it will involve those periods of setbacks and disappointment so just come to grips with it so you can move past those times. The nonlinear path is a valuable opportunity to better you. Take yours and find out how.
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