“When a spacecraft gets off its trajectory, or path through space, it must be put back on the right path. The location of the spacecraft is determined, and its course vector (the speed and direction of its flight) is calculated.” Originally posted here.
I recently read that airplanes are flying off course 99% of the time. If this is correct, then that requires constant course correction to guarantee that the plane arrives at the right destination. While this may or may not be true, the fact remains that regardless of the percentage, whether it is a plane, spacecraft or watercraft, to reach the intended destination, course correction is mandatory.
The same is true in our lives.
Not long ago, I was reviewing some goals that I had set for this year. As I was evaluating where I started and where I hoped to be at this point, I realized that in some areas, I was on target. I was making significant headway to obtain those goals and reaching the destinations that I wanted to achieve. However, that was not true for all areas.
In fact, in some areas, I was seriously off course, and one of my targeted dates merely is not going to happen. The reasons why I was drifting vary, but the truth of the matter I was no longer on course and needed to accept that and make the necessary course corrections in life to get where I know I want and need to be when 2019 ends and 2020 begins.
My guess is that it is accurate for most of us. We start with the right intentions, direction, and the plan of how we are going to make it happen in place. But somewhere along the way, life happens, the wind blows a bit stronger, and we slightly drift a bit off course. Maybe it’s such a substantial degree of turbulence that we are pushed way off course. Regardless of whether it is a little or a lot, we have to realize that without a course correction, we will not arrive at our intended destination.
To bring about this much-needed course correction, I believe that there are five things that we must do to keep ourselves moving forward and on course.
Consistently monitor your course.
If you are not consistently monitoring your direction and your course towards your goal, you won’t realize that you are off course until it is late in the game and much more challenging to get back where you need to be. What systems do you have in place that help you monitor how you are doing? Accountability works excellent here as long as you are honest with those you have asked to join you in the process, AND you permit them to speak hard truths when necessary.
Admit to yourself that you have drifted off course.
If you cannot admit that you are off course, to begin with, you will never get back to where you want to be. Airplanes drift off course due to external forces pushing on them. And while there are at times external influences and forces that drive us off course most often we drift off course due to internal forces. Our limiting beliefs, past experiences, even our current habits and behaviors are all exhibiting force on our lives, directing them where they have been conditioned to push us. [bctt tweet=”Our limiting beliefs, past experiences, even our current habits and behaviors are all exhibiting force on our lives, directing them where they have been conditioned to push us.”] When we can admit that we have moved off course, then we can look at what has driven us there.
Recognize what has pushed you off the course of your intended destination.
I think we often know when we have drifted and when we aren’t moving toward where we want to be. What I know to be right for me though is that I often fail to or choose to ignore the things that led me to that place. I can identify that I am not where I want to be, but often don’t go the next step in identifying what got me there. Until we recognize and name those things that have worked against us, and we understand how they are working against, then we will often continue to struggle to move in our desired direction. Identifying those forces allows us to begin ideating a plan that will get us back on track.
Create a plan to get back on course.
Until you have a plan on how you are going to begin working against these internal or external forces that are pushing against you, then it will be difficult ever to get back on track. Creating a plan allows you to know how you are going to push back, how you are going to move forward and deal with these issues. What truth will you speak out when the limiting beliefs say you can’t? What habits or behaviors are you going implement when old habits that die hard make their appearance? Without a plan, we will fall right back into comfortable patterns.
Implement the plan.
It’s one thing to plan something out. Often, it feels good and gives us a sense of accomplishment that we have already done the hard work. But planning is only half the process. Until we implement the plan we have created, nothing changes. You can have an exceptional plan that will get you back on course and moving towards your destination, but if you fail to implement it, then you will continue to drift off-course and be frustrated with why things are changing. Planning can be fun and exciting; doing the actual hard work of implementation is where it can get tough. The further you are off-course, the longer it will take to get back. The stronger the forces you are working against, the harder and more determined you will need to be to keep moving forward.
In a podcast, I listened to just the other day, and the guest was sharing that our brains can only change 1% at a time. The more significant the shift in belief or change, the longer it’s going to take. If you have created a great goal or set of goals that you are working toward, and you find yourself off-course. Realize that it is going to take time to get back where you want to be. That doesn’t mean you give up but that you keep moving forward. You may have to adjust your scheduled completion or arrival. You may have to do some more inner work before you can move forward. Whatever it may be, don’t stop working. Don’t stop moving forward and doing what is necessary to get back on course and where you need to be.
