Have you seen the video of Baby Liv learning to roll? If not, you may want to have a peek.
Notice the delight on Liv’s face as she flips over for the very first time. You can almost imagine the cartoon bubble – “That was AWESOME!” – over her head.
Liv had a distinct advantage over all us adults. She didn’t have a preconceived idea of what was going to happen nor any judgement, good or bad, about how she got there. We, on the other hand, have lots of goals and lots and lots of perceptions on the “right” way to achieve them. We know what we want and our desire often spoils the journey. Like finding out in advance whodunit ruins the unfolding discovery in a good mystery. The “wonder” becomes less wonder-full as we restrict our reading to looking for only those things that support the foregone conclusion. We lose the options for arriving at our destination.
It’s the difference between hopping on a plane and driving the back roads across country. Both means get you to your destination but only one supplies a deep connection to the process. Unless something catastrophic happens, the flight becomes nothing more than an event in a long series of events. It has little meaning to us other than a means to an end. We’re left without an understanding of what lies between where we started and our destination.
Traveling the back roads connects us to the journey. Instead of simply arriving we arrive rich in experiences that give us insight into ourselves. We develop an inner encyclopedia of options that we can draw on next time we want to make that same journey. In other words, we learn.
What if achieving your goal could be full of rich learning instead instead of a one-time magical arrival at your destination? What journey would you take?
Life Options 