Navigating Your Life
Read Chapter 1 of Essentials: A Wilderness Guide to Personal Success
Good Morning Afternoon!
Today is a departure from the usual format, but writing is about experimenting with voice and style as you learn and grow. It’s always been my dream to see my name in print, and I feel like I’ve been manifesting it my whole life. It dawned on me that the “🧭 10 Essentials for Functional Self-care” post may very well be that manifestation. So, I wrote a book.
I’d like to share the first chapter of the new book with you today.
NOTE: The background behind this chapter is that “Navigation” is the first of 10 essentials that your backpack should always include when you’re out in the wilderness.
Chapter 1: Navigation
using the right map is like wearing the best shoe intention matters
If I were to ask you, "What's the best shoe?" you'd probably respond with “The best shoe for what?" The best shoe is only the best shoe in the context of a goal.
Let's say I’m going on an upscale dinner date, the best shoe is the one that matches my belt, gives me an extra inch, and adds an exclamation point to my overall style. But if I wore that same shoe hiking, I’d look like a total idiot who doesn’t know what he’s doing and will likely die in a slip-and-fall accident. A sturdy boot, on the other hand, is a contextual match for a hike, and helpful in preventing a shattered ankle and a tragic death.
The same is true for a map. It's only the right map in the context of a goal.
For example, you wouldn't use the AAA Road Atlas to navigate the Yosemite National Park foot-trail system. You'd use a Yosemite trail map, marked with elevation, water sources, campgrounds, and waypoints. The same is true for your life and the goals you want to achieve.
To find the right map, start by asking yourself:
Where am I going?
How am I getting there?
When do I want to arrive?
Let's say I want to open a bakery...
(1) Where am I going? I want to open the first Polish vegan bakery in my city, inspired by the memory of my Babcia ("grandmother").
(2) How am I getting there? By taking Babcia's delicious, village-famous dessert recipes and adapting them into vegan-friendly creations that I sell through my own bakery, which I'm financing with my life savings.
(3) When do I want to arrive? I want to open "Babcia Loves Cookies" by the end of the year.
To achieve this goal, I need a map that helps me navigate:
Buying equipment and ingredients
Finding a location
Hiring staff
Attracting customers
Testing recipes
Baking, baking, and more baking
It’s going to be a giant and very complex map (in fact, probably multiple maps with many waypoints). However, the map for “Babcia Loves Cookies” does exist... I just need to find it.
Finding your maps
The first maps you were given came from your parents—these maps showed you “the way we do things in this family.”
As you grew up, you discovered more maps that came from friends, teachers, religious leaders, politicians, coaches, managers, therapists, social media, TV shows, movies, books, Google, etc.
Many of these maps should be thrown in the garbage... like the one for losing weight with a Master Cleanse. Some are so outdated that they serve no purpose other than to prove that people have been making maps for a very long time (e.g. the Babylonian Map of the World, which is over 2,500 years old).
Yet others are so incredibly useful that they not only apply to the path you are currently navigating but also to any paths you will navigate in the future (How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie is one of my favorites).
After asking yourself the three questions (Where? How? When?), use your answers to explore the maps available to you. The best ones come from experts and like-minded people who have successfully achieved the same (or similar) goals and are helping others to achieve them as well.
Experts typically have websites, social media accounts, blogs, and newsletters, and participate in discussions via forums and virtual meetings. If possible, connect with an expert in person so you can pick up on nuances and body language.
Like-minded people who are helping each other reach a similar goal can be found everywhere. You can meet people through social media, forums, organizations, and events—the possibilities are truly endless.
Both experts and like-minded people can help you navigate your path in life, but it's also important to be able to distinguish a good map from a bad one.
The way you do this is with your other navigation essential: a compass.
A map without a compass is just a paper tablecloth
Your compass is the feeling inside of you that differentiates good from bad; yes from no; truth from lies; and love from apathy.
You’ve probably heard the phrase “moral compass” before—it refers to your inner sense of right and wrong. Your compass helps guide you through decision-making, especially when faced with ethical dilemmas.
Without a compass, even the best maps are useless. You need your compass to stay on course and keep you moving in the direction that aligns with your values and beliefs. If your map is taking you off-course, your compass will let you know.
When this happens, it's time to find a new map.
Read the rest of the chapter on June 20 when the book comes out…
As always, thank you for reading my work and being a member of a growing audience of people who truly value self-care, resilience, and a positive mindset.
I’ll see you tomorrow and for those of you in the US, I hope you enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend!
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