“How did I end up here?,” my client asked. He told me that for so long, he thought he was headed in the right direction. Now, he thinks maybe it was the entirely wrong direction.
I asked him, “Did you course correct along the way?” He looked at me rather quizzically. So, I elaborated, “If you are sailing, you point the boat toward some object in the distance, in the direction you want to sail. You sail toward it. But the winds push, the current pushes, and you end up a little off-course. So, you course correct.”
But then, I added: “Sometimes, you realize that where you thought you wanted to go is not really where you want to go… or maybe it isn’t safe to go. Maybe a storm or something else. But you have to go somewhere else. So, you change course.”
And I continued, “Then there are the times when you don’t course-correct as you go, and the small space of being off-course begins to broaden as you go. What might have been just a course correction at the beginning is now a course change.”
Then I returned to our dialogue and asked, “So, did you course correct… or is this a course change?”
Just to be clear: either is fine. We all have the option of course changes in life. Sometimes, it is just a course correction. But it is okay if you need a course change.
It’s a part of life.
In this episode of the Thriveology Podcast, I explore the difference between a course correction and a course change. What does it look like, and when is it time for a change?
Listen below.
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We can fail in so many ways. Often, it is just a matter of stumbling through, not looking for a better path. We forge new paths to failure. That is often “life on automatic.”