The Path
You can get there from here.
Using Metaphors Creates Possibilities.
Metaphors are a powerful way to open up possibilities in your life. They take you out of your brain and the current constraints of your life and help you see what is possible for you. If you can dream it, you can do it.
For me, nature metahpors are the most inspiring. Thinking of life as a journey helps me remember that any journey has clear pathways, rocky terrain, wonderful sights, and thick woods. None of us are doing it wrong if we found ourselves in a deep woods, feeling a little lost. It’s just part of the journey.
You can also proactively use metaphors for specific things that you want. For example, you can use a hike metaphor to help figure out your next step or chapter.
Using a hike as a metaphor for your next chapter.
Imagine you are setting out on a hike. It’s an arduous one, but one you’re looking forward to. You can’t wait to walk through the pine-scented forest, seeing familiar markers that indicate you’re still on the trail. You don’t know they exact way, but you know you can get there from here.
You think ahead to the first glimpse of that panoramic vista you’ve heard so much about. You can’t wait to reach the clearing at the end of the trail and take a deep breath of clear, cool air.
Pine needles cushion the path in front of you, their piney scent wafting up as you step on them. You can already smell the mossy scent of the stream that the path follows and feel the sun warming your back. Imagining the sun, the scents, the sounds fills you with energy. You can’t wait to get started.
Before you go.
But first, before you go, you check to see if you have everything you need for the day. You check your water supply and your snacks; you make sure you have your hat and that your socks are wrinkle-free. You double-check the weather to make sure nothing has changed.
And then you set out, feeling prepared, looking forward to the hike. You enjoy it more because you planned ahead and are prepared.
Create a vision.
A lot of women get stuck because they don’t know what they want. The truth is that, even if you don’t know, you can figure it out. Having a vision or a dream serves as a beacon. It draws you out of your cave and into the light. In the same way that a hike to a panoramic vista can make a long hike worth it.
Take everything you need.
In recent posts, “Staying Put For Now” and “Stay in Your Present Life as Long as You Can“, I suggested you stay a little longer before making a career move. Staying and reassessing is kind of like making those preparations for your hike. You double-check, make sure you have everything you need, and then you set out with confidence. You leave behind what no longer serves you and take what you need for your journey forward.
Every hike is a fresh start. You get to reimagine where you’re going and how you’re going to get there.
We all start our journeys from different places. Start where you are.
We’re all created differently; we’re all at different places on our journey; we’re all headed somewhere different.
No one can tell you the exact right hike/steps for you. It’s a process of discovery. Sometimes we look to others when we’re not sure. But the answer isn’t in following someone else’s way, but in discovering your own way. Maybe you just need to go on the hike and see if you like it.
Move your life in directions that are important to you.
Well-travelled hikes: Going with the flow, being guided by the should’s and have-to’s of society can lead you down a popular and crowded path, and may leave you feeling safe but unfulfilled. They’re a good start.
Finding your own path: Move your life in directions that are important to you. Build habits that allow you to live life in accordance with your values and aspirations. Get where you want to go by deciding where you want to go, preparing, and then setting out on your own journey. This is what creates fulfillment and meaning in your life.
A guide.
If you haven’t yet discovered your path forward, join me. I don’t know your path, but I know how to help you find it.