Do you know where you are going?

The Importance of Knowing Where You’re Going Over the Path You Take

Yes, I know, I know—today is not Friday. But you see, sometimes life happens, and we need to adapt.

I wanted to share a valuable lesson I learned during my holidays. I like to go solo hiking every now and then as it takes me out of my comfort zone by a mile, and it forces me to take radical responsibility for my own decisions without the possibility of postponing any of them.

The lesson I learned was:

“It’s more important to know where you’re going than to follow other people’s paths.”

I found myself in a situation that perfectly illustrated this point, and it’s a lesson worth sharing.

While solo hiking, I was following a path on my GPS—a trail that someone else had already marked out. It wasn’t a very technical hike but definitely out of my comfort zone. Things were going smoothly until I reached a point where I couldn’t find the path anymore. I kept telling myself, “It has to be here. I just need to find it.” The terrain was rough, and as I continued to struggle to stay on the same route, I started to feel nervous and frustrated. All my doubts started creeping up. What if I get lost? What if I injure myself? Maybe it was not such a good idea to be out here on my own.

I was on the verge of giving up, turning around, and heading back to my car.

But then I stopped and took a moment to think. I realized that the destination was what really mattered—not sticking to the exact path I was following. My goal was clear: I needed to get to the top, and it was right there in front of me. I just had to go up. It dawned on me that there wasn’t just one way to get there—there were potentially many ways.

I sat down, gathered my thoughts, and took a good look around. Almost immediately, I spotted an easier and better route than the one I had been struggling to find. It was right there all along, but I hadn’t seen it because I was too focused on following someone else’s exact footsteps.

This experience reminded me that sometimes we get so caught up in the details of the journey that we forget the bigger picture. It’s easy to feel lost when the path you’re on doesn’t look the way you expected, but if you know your destination, you can find your way—even if it means creating your own path.

The lesson? Keep your eyes on where you’re going, and don’t be afraid to change course if you need to. There’s more than one way to reach your goals. All it takes is a moment of reflection, a bit of creativity, and the courage to choose your own way forward.

I’d love to hear your thoughts or experiences where changing your approach led to success.

Aitana

Thanks for reading! 🖤