Reclaiming Your Journey

Over the last few days, I’ve been reading and reflecting on a book called ‘What you’re really meant to do - A roadmap to reaching your full potential’ written by Robert S. Kaplan. I didn’t expect that it would provide anything more than a generic formula or interesting framework as 'food for thought' but I approached the book with an open mind. Truth be told, the framework itself wasn’t anything very surprising, but what did strike me was the focus on self-discovery and the nuance of embedding YOU as the chief architect of YOUR framework and roadmap to success.

The book articulated a useful framework with a relatively simple formula; understand your strengths and weaknesses, find and embrace your passions, build your support system with relationships based on mutually understanding, trust and respect, and make the most of every opportunity. The book challenges the reader to dare to dream and then follow that dream.

Interestingly to me, the most critical element of this framework is understanding YOU; learning about who you are, identifying the narratives that shape your character, your dreams and what’s important to you. It’s a mind-set that too often we loose (I know I did). Most people are ok with just knowing that those stories just exist in your memories. What I thought was most useful was the importance of acknowledging your story by writing it down. Even with the most practical framework, there isn’t a magic bullet or any ‘conventional wisdom’ that is completely relevant to you and your journey unless you understand your journey. That’s the magic (and the brilliance) of the book is to help you refocus on YOU!

For me, I got so caught up in what I was ‘supposed’ to be - the career, the status, the job, the mission. I was going a hundred miles an hour and constantly benchmarking myself against other people. I started to get lost in those reflections and I let those reflections shape what should make me happy. In that, I lost my identity, my sense of self and what mattered most to me. I lost track of the talents and gifts I offer to the world because I was just keeping up. I was doing well in my career and was relatively successful in my role and fitting nicely in 'the box'. But I was also isolated and felt trapped by the choices that I made that no longer felt like my own.

To be true to yourself and to understand what you’re meant to do, you have to be able to articulate it clearly - for YOU (not anyone else)! You can’t take for granted that it’s just 'there'. Articulating your skills and talents and connecting that with what you love to do will help you make the most of the opportunities in front of you and to plot your own roadmap for achieving your potential.

Honestly, it’s not easy and it’s a journey that you need to take responsibility for and own. It requires both discipline and patience which seem like luxuries nowadays. You let yourself get distracted by the urgent. With the speed of communication and the veracity of social networking, you get caught on a treadmill of life and forcing yourself to keep moving out of fear that someone or something will pass us by. I never allowed myself to take the time to slow down. In doing so, I sacrificed the needed time for self-reflection and regrouping because I was too busy or because it felt like youthful vanity. I told myself that what’s most important is to keep pressing forward. But in doing that, the isolation and the sense of being lost overwhelmed me. I lost ‘me’ and my life started to feel dreadful. I was standing at a crossroads - either ignore the dread and keep going or to slow down, step back and breathe. I agonized over the choice but I knew that I had to reclaim my journey and kept thinking, if not know, then when? While I could have continued on the treadmill and accepting what 'is', I recognized that in the end, dread and regret would have taken over and turned to bitterness and then I might be lost forever. I mustered the courage and took the leap of faith needed and choose to slow down to regroup and to reflect!

While I don't regret the decision, It wouldn't be honest to say that each day didn’t bring some sense of guilt, stress, fear, and anxiety as the world moves around me. But I'm learning to take each day at a time - reflecting on my skills and passions, reading and writing, and just being mindful. I’m finding myself again and fueling my passions to prepare for the next leap in my life; a new job at a new organization. I’m gaining the strength and courage in who I am and what I want to do in this world and I’m learning to pace myself.

I’m grateful for the perspective offered by Mr. Kaplan in his book. I can honestly say, getting to know yourself again is the most exhilarating and liberating experience; it’s a gift you should never take for granted.

#ReclaimYourJourney