We have become severely dependent on GPS to find our way around these days. As much as I want to criticize our sad dependence on it, it’s a remarkable tool. It’s mind-boggling to think that you can put any address or destination into your phone, hit a button, and instantly have very specific directions to get there. It tells you how many miles away it is, how long the trip will take, your estimated time of arrival, and even gives you alternate route options. And now with AI, it utilizes past driving habits to more accurately predict your time in route.
One remarkable aspect of GPS is its ability to come up with a new route, quickly and accurately, if you miss a turn, go the wrong way, or if traffic ahead becomes an issue. As I was traveling one day, I missed the exit I was supposed to take. I realized my mistake, and watched my GPS immediately come up with a new route. It didn’t just turn me around and take me back to pick up the original route, but almost instantaneously calculated the best new route, ensuring the earliest arrival time.
It made me think about life. While we don’t have a GPS for life, we are constantly having to recalculate our routes. It is often the mistakes for lack of results that alert us that we are traveling down the wrong path. This new information signals us to make a change.
Unfortunately, most of us ignore these signals, try to convince ourselves that we can still get where we are trying to go, or simply don’t want to expend the energy to get on a better path. This leaves us traveling in the wrong direction for much longer, getting no closer to our desired destination, and often further from it. I posted a Japanese legend in my Friday’s Findings a couple of weeks ago that sums this up nicely… “If you get on the wrong train, get off at the nearest station, the longer it takes you to get off, the more expensive the return trip will be.”
It does take time, energy, and attention to recalculate our route. And many of us get so set on the route we initially chose, that we cling hard to it, as if rerouting is failure. Rerouting is major success trait required for optimal living. I fly planes, and once the GPS is set, the autopilot is constantly making micro-adjustments to maintain the fastest and most accurate route possible. It doesn’t make an occasional correction… it is constantly correcting. This helps account for changing factors like wind speed, wind direction, lift, and turbulence.
According to James Clear, author of the great book, Atomic Habits, focusing on your trajectory is most important, not your destination. If you continuously assess and tweak your trajectory or route, it’s simply a matter of time before you arrive at your desired destination. Stepping back and occasionally looking at where you are headed helps ensure you aren’t getting too far off course.
Make sure you take a look at the route you’re on right now. Is it time to reroute? Is there a better path? Are you staying on the route you’re on because you’ve been on it so long that getting off scares you? Do you think you’ve committed too much time to this route to change it? Life is too short to stay on a route that doesn’t fill you up. Whether it is the work you are doing, the relationships you are in, the unhealthy lifestyle you’ve led, or any other area of life that has left you unfulfilled, it’s time to take a look at where you are, decide where you would ultimately like to be, reroute, and get on a better path. It’s not too late. And remember… the longer you wait, “the more expensive the return trip will be.” Rerouting is not only okay, it is essential to get the most out of this life.
