Are You Where You Want To Be In Life? [7 Simple Questions To Get You Back On Track]

Are You Where You Want To Be In Life?

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself the question, are you where you want to be in life?

When you were younger, did you ever imagine you would end up where you are now - doing the job you are doing, driving the car you are doing, in the relationship you are in (or not, as it may be), looking the way you look, with the bank account balance that you have?

I truly hope that you can answer that question positively, as in, "no, I never thought things could be this great - I'm loving life!".

For the majority of people though, that isn't the case.

Life has a way of throwing us off track - we have all these great plans laid out about what we want to do, be and have, and then life throws us a curve ball.

As Mike Tyson said - "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face".

And damn, can life throw a punch!

You are where you are meant to be

Wherever you find yourself right now, just know - that's OK.

You don't HAVE to be doing what other people are doing, you just do you.

Even if by your own standards, you haven't quite achieved the success you had hoped and you want more, it's never too late to turn things around.

Or, maybe you ARE trying, but no matter what you do you can't seem to make progress down the path you had planned out for you...

Ever considered that life might just have another path planned for you, and you are just resisting it because you are so hell bent on going the way you wanted to go?

Maybe if instead of focusing on what you don't have, focus on what's in front of you.

Maybe instead of feeling lack and want, feel gratitude and appreciation.

Maybe instead of wishing you could do or be something else, you put the work into what you are - get good, get great, be the best version of you; then

Maybe - just maybe, you will eventually achieve your desired outcome - you just took a different route to get there...

Trust That The River Bends

A mentor of mine has a saying - "Trust that the river bends".

It's a metaphor for life.

We have a starting point and we have a destination, but it isn't a straight path. The river of life is going to meander one way and then the next, it's going to twist and turn.

There is going to be gentle flowing easy sections, and fast moving dangerous sections.

Just stick with it - trust that the river bends.

Trust that eventually, you will get to your destination - it might not be the path you had planned out, but if you keep on putting in the work and paddling down that river, you will get there.

So don't panic if you seem to be going off track - stay calm and take in the scenery, keep your eyes open, you may just bump into an opportunity along the way!

How to get back on track

If however you have found yourself stranded and not making any progress at all, or somewhere you really don't want to be - maybe you need to consider an alternative course of action, because continuing to do the same thing, or worse, doing nothing about it, is not going to change anything.

Start with some self reflection.

This works best with a journal, so grab your notebook and pen, find a quiet place free of distractions and start writing...

Ask yourself power questions that will make you think in order to answer them.

• What is it that you wanted to have, be or have done in your life so far? (Clarity of purpose - you can't get somewhere if you don't know you need to be there!)

• What things do you need to do or have to get where you want to be? (Break it down into smaller, achievable goals).

• What problems might you face, and how could you overcome them? (Don't ignore problems, anticipate them. Successful people don't hope not to have problems, they expect them and they plan ahead - just like you need to. This way, when they happen, they won't be a mental block).

• What would [insert a person you admire who is good at what you want to do] do to achieve this goal?

• Who do you know who has experience in what you want to do that could help you? (The mastermind principle - leverage other people's knowledge and skills).

• What 1 thing can I do today to move me towards my vision? (Take action, think of something you can do then do it without hesitation - congratulations, you are a step closer towards your goal!).

• Looking back, what could I have done differently that could have moved me further towards my goal - or another way of putting it - what mistakes have I made that have stopped me from achieving my goals? (Learning from your mistakes - an integral part of success).

Final Thoughts

If ever you get to a point in life where you feel lost and you don't know what you should be doing, don't stress about it - everyone feels like that at some point.

For the most part, you will come across these moments at cross roads in you life, when you have a - let's call it a change of purpose.

These are typically times where you transition from being all-in, focused on achieving something, to post-achieving it then having nothing else to focus on - it can feel like you are drifting through life.

If you are an ambitious, success driven type - it can feel quite scary. It feels like time is passing you by and you are not getting anywhere, but know this...

It is totally normal.

When these times come around, just acknowledge them for what they are, a transitional period in your life where you need to take a step back - maybe take some time out or have a little break, and re-assess where you are at and where you want to be.

Set yourself some new targets, then go smash them, and find your version of success!