I have known for sometime that I am not quite where I want to be. I visualize a path… my path, and I can see it so perfectly in my mind. It is beautiful, harmonious, peaceful and full of joy. I am not on that path. I have somehow deviated from it, and so while I see it just to the left of me, I am trudging my way through thick brush, mud, and ducking out of the way of low hanging branches. I think everyone has a path… a flow of life that is in harmony with their soul. I believe that if you are on that path, life is a wonderful journey. Will there be the inevitable “downed tree” or pot hole on your path, of course, but that’s a lot better than tree bashing and fighting through the whole journey. Some people are fortunate and find their way early in life. Other people don’t find it until they’ve been on the wrong one long enough to realize where they are. Sadly, I have known people who appear as though they’ll never find what they’re looking for. It’s easy to get distracted and caught up and busy and ___ and pretty soon you don’t even know how you got to where you are. Think about a college degree. How many people do you know who work in their chosen degree field? I don’t know very many. I think it’s difficult to know what your path is when you’re 18, 19, or 20. I mean, my priority at that point in my life was making it to the weekend so I could party, and I’m pretty sure that isn’t my life path.

I work in the environmental industry, and it happens to be my chosen field. However, my intentions for using my degree are not even close to what I’m actually doing with them. I had this grandiose plan to be a field research scientist, studying rivers and fresh water systems, improving ways to utilize technology that would help to preserve this precious resource. Really, I wanted to wake up everyday and feel like I was doing something to better the world; something that went beyond boosting the economy. My job, which I will say that I am grateful for (it’s really a good job), does not leave me with the feeling that I’ve produced something meaningful. The most meaningful thing that is produced by my current employment is a paycheck. To me, that’s just uninspiring.

So how do you know if you’ve lost your way? Well, besides the resounding “off” feeling that you might carry around with you,

1. The snooze bar is your best friend. Think about it, have you ever in your life overslept on a Saturday when you were going to leave for vacation, or heading up for a day of surfing or snowboarding? Probably not. When we are excited and passionate about what we’re doing, nothing will keep us from beginning each day.
2. Your input is questionable. How many of you say you give your current career 100%- day in and day out? I can honestly say that while often I am assigned a project that lights a fire under me, there are other times when I am just skating through the day, trying to make it to the end so I can go home. Again, if we are passionate about what we’re doing, we give it everything we’ve got.
3. You do it for the money. In today’s money-focused world, it’s difficult for anyone to say they don’t work for the money. Still, there are people out there who do what they do because they love it, and they would do it regardless of what it paid them.
4. You question your purpose. Have you ever looked at the function of your job on a larger scale… the worldly scale? Can you look at your job, a job you devote a precious 250 days out of each year and say that what you provide to the world is worth that much of your life? It’s kind of a scary way to look at it, but it is the reality of a career. Shouldn’t it be worth giving that much of your life to?
5. You don’t need no stinking path. Otherwise known as denial. Sometimes I think we can get so far astray that it becomes easier to tell ourselves that the current situation is fine. Maybe it’s not exactly what we have envisioned for our life, but it provides a paycheck and allows time for shopping and football. It’s good enough… forget the path and just make the best of this one. If you find yourself feeling this way, you’re making excuses and therefore avoiding the necessary change to bring yourself full circle.

Why is this important? Beyond the joy of doing something everyday that inspires you (whether it’s helping the world or not), finding your path can increase your success. I truly believe that the most successful people in life are where they are because they’re following their path… their path has the least resistance to happiness, income, love and everything else.

I think we often find our path again during times of great hardship. When things are ok… when the status quo is functioning, it’s much harder to put yourself out there and decide to turn your life upsidedown. Whether it’s a job or a relationship, it’s easier to just get by with the way things are because what’s familiar seems safe and easy. But, when things have already gone haywire, readjusting your direction to get back on the right path doesn’t seem like such a stretch. This week, I was warned that lay offs are a possibility in the near future. I was so scared earlier this week, but as days have passed I’ve realized that if I were to get laid off, I would utilize it as an opportunity to discover something new. Just the idea has made me rethink some things about life. I came to realize that much of what I’m doing every day is just fulfilling the status quo, and that’s not exactly what I had in mind. I’m not talking about leaving my job per se, but I am talking about spending some time to reflect on what aspects of my life can be improved so that I can begin to travel the path of least resistance again.

If you find yourself relating to the 5 tips, it might be time to examine what you want our of your life, and whether you’ve somehow ended up off-track. Only you know where your path is in relation to your current direction; it’s up to you change course.

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