Sometimes our lives are challenging not because of external influences but because of internal influences.
I am talking about the driver within.
The primal function of the driver is to transport you from your current location to a new destination. You pick the destination and the driver focuses on getting you there to the exclusion of what ever else is happening in your life. The driver has this innate ability to place attention on the destination without distraction. The driver is purposeful, driven and ready to do what is required to succeed in reaching the destination.
The driver in other words has a very fixed focus.
The driver will say things to you like…
5 hours sleep is plenty, I’ve got stuff to do.
Messy hair is fine, I’ve got places to go.
Who needs breakfast, coffee will do.
I’ve got to be in the office early, I’ve got so much to do.
I’ll have to cancel the hair dresser, I’m just too busy.
If you are anything like me, you have heard this voice many times.
Your driver was once your bestie, it kept you focused and motivated so you could achieve your goals and utilise opportunities. It kept you going when the going got tough and successfully brought you to your destination. So, you may now experience a successful career, loving family, divine home, dream car, financial security, freedom, status, European holidays, or at least some of these things.
Our destination is not permanent, once we reach it and after a time, we set another. We go through many transitions and changes in life. Along the way there are signposts giving us messages, guiding us. The challenge is, they are not easy to read, in fact, they are hard to see.
These signs start gently with an uneasy feeling, a dissatisfaction, a confusion or a desire for something different.
And then it builds…
You find yourself at the Christmas Party thinking, “why am I here and not home with my family?
You’re working late, missing your mum’s birthday thinking,“why am I here?”
You’ve just submitted a challenging and significant tender and you ask yourself, “what was that all about?”
Or perhaps you are preparing food, driving the kids, helping with homework and then you realise, you are everywhere but here.
And your driver is still pushing and striving to arrive.
The signs begin to get clearer and you realise something is not quite right.
Your mind is full with thoughts like:
I should be more grateful.
I love my family/home/career so why aren’t I happy?
I have no right to feel like this and yet I do.
..and then it happens, the penny drops and you realise your driver is moving towards an outdated destination.
You gave changed and forgotten to inform the driver.
You are then faced with a choice to give the driver a new destination or …
Our feelings are incredible signposts, they tell us when we are moving in the right direction and when we are not. They tell us when our destination has changed.
Unfortunately, they don’t necessarily tell us when we have forgotten to inform the driver.
There are sign post along the way. What are your sign posts telling you?
