How do you know if that roadblock is a sign you’re veering way off course or test to see how invested you are?
It may seem like a fine line between a closed door and one more challenge to question your seriousness so how do you determine whether you should keep going or go back to your day job?
4 questions to ask yourself to decipher which path you’re currently on:
- Are you burnt out? Many nights of constant working on your goals could make anyone feel like throwing in the towel. If you’re spending more time in doing mode, you may need to devote yourself just being for a while.
- Do you think about your calling when you’ve spent time away from it? Now that you’ve given yourself to unplug and unwind, do you find yourself thinking about that unfinished manuscript or about that blogging job you really wanted to do? Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed with the tasks that lead to our calling and that can make us feel like giving up. But callings have an almost obsessive quality so if you feel this way, chances are you’re on the right path.
- Close your eyes and imagine you’ve already accomplished your goal. Tune into your body. How do you feel inside? Is there relief? Joy? Gratitude? Excitement? Dread? Fear? Emotions like dread and relief might signal a goal that’s more for someone else than it is your own. Fear, joy, excitement and gratitude may be pointing toward underlying issues that come with finally getting to your dreams. The latter signals you’re on the right path.
- You feel drawn to do something else. This is a tricky one because when the going gets tough we all get shiny object syndrome where everything seems more appealing than the thing we’re currently working on. At the same time, a lot of us get into a transitional position to help us to the next part of our life. Some people are called to different things at different points of life. Yoga is often one of those phases and being a mother to young children can also be a special transitional time. If you take a step towards something new, however, and you still feel drawn to that previous thing, chances are you were just feeling stuck and were not heading in a different direction.
Callings can be likened to a relationship. Every relationship romantic or not comes to a head. When things get hard, it’s normal to want to give up. It’s normal to feel like being in a relationship or friendship with someone else would be easier.
The question is do you feel called to do what you’re doing. Do you feel that the world needs your words and stories? Will you be providing a much-needed service? Do you feel excited when you wake up thinking about pursuing this calling? And when you reach the rocky parts of your relationship with it, do you still love it?
Because every purposeful journey involves the dark night of the soul, you will be bound to reach this point.
You should both honor and appreciate how far you’ve come and realize whether you’re on the wrong path or hit the expected obstacles, this is just information on what you should do next.
If you are legitimately on the wrong path, you can start again.
If you’ve hit a difficult and lengthy obstacle, there’s a lot you can do. I’ll post ways to get through this time in a future blog.
After reading this, leave a comment and let me know which path you’re on.
NOTE: Would you like to know how I can help you? Email me at bauyemura AT gmail DOT com.