Many of us are on a journey that has no foreseeable destination, like astronauts going up into space without a planet or moon in mind to land on, or like birds migrating for the winter but traveling East instead of South.
It’s like getting on a plane without a destination in mind, and so you’re either forever traveling, not knowing when to get off, or you get off at a random airport in a random city.
Because we don’t know where we’re going, we travel in an uneven path, a circular zigzag that leaves us at the exact place we started from.
Life doesn’t come with a “wrong way” sign when you travel in the opposite direction of your destination—unforeseen the destination may be—and so we often find ourselves lost.
And we refuse to ask for directions. We don’t want to ask those that have been where we are or those that have reached the destination we are trying to reach. We would rather swallow our pride and face the roadblocks and wrong turns.
We may not even realize that we’re on a journey. We may not even realize that we’re lost and searching for a way out. But we are.
Our life’s journey is not the same as our life’s destination, but our life’s journey should help us get to our life’s destination.
Our life’s journey is everything we have experienced up to present time. It’s your memories, your recollections; the sugar, the spice, and everything nice that was put into the pot and mixed up to make you into the person you are today.
Our life’s destination is a little bit cloudier. It’s your purpose in life, your reason for existing; your goals, wants, dreams, passions, skills and talents all mixed into one recipe.
But how do we know our destination? And harder still, how do we get there?
To figure out your life’s destination, you must first ask yourself and honestly answer these questions:
- What do I love to do?
- What do I want to do?
- Some of us are still asking, what do I want to be when I grow up?
- To the above question, why do I want to be that?
- What skills do I have?
- What skills do I want to have?
- What am I passionate about?
- What will I major in, what am I majoring in, or what did I major in?
- To the above question, why will I, am I, or did I?
- What are my hobbies?
- What do other people say I’m good at?
- What positive traits do other people say I have?
- What industry would those skills and traits be good in?
- What are the things that put a smile on my face?
- Why do I wake up in the morning?
- Why am I living?
- Why am I existing?
Some of the answers to these questions might be “I don’t know,” but you should think hard and take the time to figure out the answers.
You don’t have to rush. It’s your destination, and if you wish to stop and smell the roses on the path you’re traveling, then so be it.
As humans, we accomplish a lot through trial and error. As the saying goes, the road to success is paved with failure. But once you have an idea about your destination, some of the roadblocks become easier to jump over, some of the obstacles easier to bypass.
So, how do you reach your destination? I’ll let you know when I’ve arrived at mine. Perhaps the destination is not finite, the journey infinity.
You probably don’t know me, and so I have no right to demand this promise of you, but just promise me that you’ll use your journey to figure out your own unique recipe that makes up your destination.
