Destination

Direct to the Destination

Technically, the pilots could turn the plane in the pictured scenario and attempt to go directly to the airport. The probability of a successful landing is extremely low. It is in the best interest of the plane, passengers, and crew that the flight passes the destination to line up on a final approach that is practiced, planned, and highly predictable.

How might we avoid heading directly to our destination when we are not likely to reach it safely (or with the intended impact)? How might we plan how to arrive, not just focus on connecting the dots between two locations?

The Route or Horizon

Are you more enthusiastic about the route or the horizon line? Does the idea of travel or the destination resonate more? If you could time travel to the journey in progress or the arrival back home, which would you select? Knowing our preferences influences our mindset. Our mindset prioritizes which aspect of the adventure we deem most important. All of these aspects will allow us to put our signature on the way forward.

Direction vs Destination

What destination have you selected? What direction are you currently headed? Sometimes, we must head opposite our destination, but we are still on course. During the New Year’s resolution phase of the calendar, it can feel that we have planned poorly; however, do not confuse destination and direction. If the journey is a priority, we deploy our wayfinding skills to keep moving, even when the best route suggests we revisit paths already traveled.

Journey and/or Destination?

Two mindsets, journey and destination, one focuses on the landscape we inhabit, and the second focuses on the finish line.

Both are essential perspectives to maintain. Being hyper-focused on the destination might lead us off a cliff, into a swamp, or miss the spectacular view corridors. Enveloped in the journey mindset, we might spend the night outside without proper gear since we failed to assess the time required to reach the shelter. 

As we prepare to navigate a new year, consider the mindsets we wish to assume as we venture into 2023. A new year is a season of goal setting; however, goals without purpose and context often leave us feeling empty. How might we embrace the journey while making measurable progress toward a destination that matters? How might we know more tomorrow than we do today because the route we traveled revealed insights when we seek out destinations that are not easy to reach?

Next Stop

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Too often we witness overwhelmed by the number of options or frustration by the lack of choice.  The boldest step is to pick one route and let the adventure unfold. It is too easy to sit in front of a departure board and look at all the possible destinations.  What if we commit to a preferred location and then sort out the details?  Trusting our navigational abilities is inherent in our remarkable wayfinding skills.  Orient ourselves towards what matters and then embark on the journey.

Obstructions

 

If there were no obstructions than our enterprise would cease to exist.  The trans-continental railway unimagined.  Exploration of space left on the launch pad.  Redesigning a city while honoring those who perished in its previous form would not have taken years.  The obstruction is what keep us focused.  Just make sure that the obstruction does not distract from the better future you are creating.

Why We Exist

IMG_7047It is easy to get myopic when most attention and money seem to flow to/from our peripheral enterprises.  Our organization was founded to engage, start conversations, and inspire.  We wanted to make an aspect of life better.  So we made a brave decision to place ourselves into our respective communities.  We required fuel to reach our destination and connected with sources of funding.  But the funding was not the reason we started the journey and it is not the destination.  Most of our tribe joined because the vision was compelling and the adventure worthy of their time.  Does our enterprise today reflect the journey we started at inception or is the new destination driven by the location of refueling stations?