When You Know Where You’re Going It’s A Lot Easier To Get There

If only the Universe was always this clear.

The long meandering road by the beach ends with a stop sign. The intersection presents only two options. A left turn or a right one. Glancing up at the sign, I see that the names of the roads converging at this point are unusually descriptive. The road to the left is Purgatory Road. The road to the right is Paradise Avenue.

Purgatory or Paradise.

Which would you choose?

At first I found the sign a bit humorous, but on the drive home I started thing about some of the intersections I’ve come to in my own life. The choices I’ve had to make were not as clearly marked, there was never a sign to tell me where my choices would lead me. 

With no real signs to guide me, at times I’d simply remain at the stop signs for as long as I could. When unsure of which decision to make, sometimes making no decision was the comfortable decision. And if I had to make a decision, the safe one was usually the familiar one, even if I knew such a decision wasn’t in my best interest. My greatest moments of growth have been when I found the courage to be comfortable with the discomfort of choosing the unfamiliar path, turning into my future instead of staying stuck in my past.

The decisions we make in those intersection moments of life will either perpetuate more of what is, or elevate us higher towards the life we want to create. Perpetuate or elevate. It sounds quite logical and simple, but breaking free from the grasp of our history is far more difficult in application. If we allow ourselves to accept more of what we’ve always accepted we shouldn’t be surprised when we experience more of the same.

Elevation is the more difficult path. At first. But where we are going is always more important than where we’ve been. We first need to decide where that is.

I hate this quote by James Clear; “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.” I hate it because it holds me accountable for my actions in shaping my future. But I love its brutal honesty.

I love it because it’s true.

As I’ve learned to be more fully accountable for my life, my decision making at those unmarked life intersections has become easier. Accountability requires the presence of clarity, and when you know who you want to become and you know the life you want to create you tend to make decisions to support such a vision.

When you know where you’re going it’s a lot easier to get there.