The journey of 1000 miles begins with wearing the right shoes! This is my personal modification of the Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu’s quote “The Journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” My modification deals with what you must do before you take the first step. The preparation for that step. Not having the right shoes can cause the most pleasant journey very painful. There have been many great journeys that did not end at the intended destination. They did not reach the destination or they ended up in a completely different place.
Before you take that first step it is important to plan and prepare for a successful trip. Many people set out on journeys without a clear picture of where they want to go or a clue of how to get there.
This is the time of the year when people prepare for the coming year. It is import to set goals for the future, but it is also important to examine the distance you have traveled so far. Remember every journey has two points. It has a destination and an origin. If you don’t spend time to understand where you are, how do you know which direction you must go?
I will not go into details about the emotional and psychological processes necessary. I will only deal with the mechanics of the process. The entire process can be captured within the understanding of how a map works. If we were to travel from Los Angeles, California to New York City there are many options to getting there. These options include methods of travel (walk, cycle, car, bus, air plane) and routes (northern, southern, eastern, or western) to get there.
There are two very important steps regardless of the method of travel or route that must be done first. The first step is to determine where you are and second is where you want to go. Once these two steps are done they will influence every other process.
Where you are:
You must know your starting point.
- Physically (location, health, strength, attributes)
- Emotional (stressed, anger, depressed)
- Intellectually (knowledge, Understanding)
- Skills (training, experience)
- Behaviorally (introvert, extrovert, self-starter, procrastinator)
- Relationally (single, married, children, friends, loner)
Where do you want to go:
You must know your destination.
- Physically- If you desire to lose weight or gain weight, how much and by when. If you desire to get healthy, what does that mean? Does it mean you can walk/run further or faster, lower blood pressure, able to lift a certain amount of weight? Get more/better sleep? Needing less medication.
- Emotionally- How do you know when stress is reduced or gone? How do you know when someone loves you? How do you know when you are in love? What brings you joy? What brings you happiness? (They are not the same!)
- Intellectually – What type of degree do you want? Which language do you want to learn? Will you learn on-line or in a classroom?
- Skills – What instrument do you want to learn? What type of painting or drawing you want to learn to do? What type of home remodeling or repair you would like to learn. What type of self-defense you what to learn? How fast do you want to be able to read? What type of public speaking do you want to do?
- Behavioral – How early do you need to get up? How late do you need to stay up? How far do you need to drive? How long do need to study or practice? What type of exercise do you need to do and how often do you need to do it? What types of food do you need to eat?
- Relationships – What new relations must you develop? How do you establish them? What existing relationships will be impacted and by how much? Will you have to rely on someone else as you travel your journey? Will you need sponsors to finance you or guides to show you the way?
I hope this so far has help you. In my next blog I will discuss, what will you take, what do you need to leave behind, and understanding the signs along the way.
If this blog has helped you in any way please leave me a comment. Thanks.
Until next time:
Keep Fighting the B.E.A.R.
Dewong Lucas, Sr.
Hunter@FightingTheBear.com
www.FightingTheBear.com
