On this journey called Life, you are either moving towards something you want or moving away from something you don’t want. Or, maybe you’re stuck in neutral.

Moving towards what you want means you’re fueled by desire and inspiration; Moving away from what you don’t want means you’re fueled by fear, pain, anxiety, confusion.

Think of it as setting out on a trip. You either have a destination in mind. Or you just want to get out of Dodge. Either way, you put gas in your car and head out. 

If you have a destination in mind, you’re prepared, you’re excited. You can’t wait to see all the things you’ve researched.

If you don’t have anywhere in mind, you take your best guess and end up somewhere. It’s not so bad. It was easy to get to. There are things you like, and you make the best of it. Eventually, you notice the things you don’t like. It doesn’t feel quite right.

That sucks, so you try to change the place to suit you. You complain about it. You try to get it (and the people there) to change. You make sure they know you’re not happy. You may even think there’s something wrong with you because you don’t fit into this random place (yet again)  You keep trying to fit in, to settle. You numb yourself with tv, the Interwebs, food, wine, travel, expensive things. You feel alone in your struggle.

You can spend your energy trying to change a place (or person) that doesn’t suit you. Or, you can spend your energy getting out of Dodge (moving away again). Or, you can spend your energy determining what does suit you, make a plan, and set out for that place. 

If you choose the latter, you’ll be fueled by the excitement, peace, well-being that comes from figuring out what’s right for you. The next place you put into your GPS may or may not be perfect, but it will be better. You may refine your idea of perfect and choose another destination. And this will refuel you to go another leg where you’ll find something even better. You won’t ever run out of gas because you get energy from creating what you truly want. You will enjoy the journey, even when there is a detour, or a bump in the road, or you get a flat tire. You’ll remind yourself that it’s worth it because of where you’re going. It’s part of the journey.

You’re either moving towards what you want; Or, you’re moving away from what you don’t want.

You can create what you want, feeling the discomfort of the unknown (aka adventure). Or, you avoid that discomfort because of a fear of the unknown, consume what others have created in their lives in order to tolerate what you haven’t created in yours.

Where, in your life, have you ended up somewhere by accident? Do you like it? Are you trying to change it? Are you trying to change someone? What if you decided on a destination perfectly suited to you and went there instead?

In any situation, you can ask yourself if you’re moving towards or moving away. And recalibrate.