Last week I was sitting doing the email ‘thing’ and the BBC News threw up in front of me the headline…Man Follows Sat Nav To Edge of Cliff!
Curious, because as you may know these ’strict, very scary voices’ who reside in ’sat navs’ don’t do much for the old self-esteem i.e. when you miss your exit they bellow out of a tiny piece of plastic ‘Turn back, you eegit, you have missed your turning, honestly, tut, have you passed your test, do you listen to a word I say’…and so on!
(If you have not experienced the voice of a sat nav, go on a journey with someone who does have one, but I insist you take wrong turnings…you’ll quickly get what I mean)
Anyway, the headline, in short…man, in a car heading along a dirt track followed his sat nav because it was telling him where to go he said, I paraphrase: “It kept insisting the path was a road, even as it was getting narrower and steeper. I just trusted it. You don’t expect to be taken nearly off a cliff.”
True, and yet…
Who do you insist on listening to, when you already know that the decision you made is the best one for you at this time?
It got me thinking. We are pretty much like sat navs, or lemmings?
Eh?
Well, we are programmed, yes?
We choose one direction over another, right?
And yet, we ‘listen to the experts’ even when our intuition, gut feelings and emotions tell us otherwise. And worse, we generally know when we are completely on the wrong the path and keep going.
So before you go and head of the edge of a cliff…listen up:
If you have ever asked yourself “Where am I going? Is this for me? Is how I am living my life making me happy” well first, take heart, you’re not alone.
Mostly likely you have probably already said this to your best friend over a pint or to family member while wolfing down another roast potato at Sunday dinner. No doubt an answer was forthcoming, but…
Have you ever considered what influence just one opinion can have over the entire course of your life?
One rule set by someone else that shaped an entire chapter?
One wrong piece of info that sent you in the wrong direction?
Okay, we speak to the people we trust and that in itself is vitally important. Family and friends offer (usually) instant confidentiality and some form of understanding.
So where’s the problem?
Unfortunately, us little Earthlings can have a tendency to be Lemmings and easily swayed with what others say. Peoples’ opinions are marred by their own experience and while valuable, should we guard ourselves against it becoming our own?
Here’s the thing…every person’s life experience is unique to them. Yeah, you know that. So, you’ll agree that every opinion therefore is unique to the individual, right?
“This is obvious advice” I hear you cry and you’re right!
Now though, take a moment and look back at your past decisions.
Let’s, for simplicity, use your career…
How many times have you changed what you wanted to do simply because one person said it was a “bad idea” or “You’re too old to start now!”.
So now I’m here giving you a second opinion!
Why listen to just one person! If you desire to ask others opinions (which is pretty human by the way) I challenge you to find a third, then a fourth until you flesh out those questions I mentioned earlier.
“Okay, I’ve spoken to Bob the landlord at the pub, any good?”. Well, if you intend to become a bar keeper and want to pull pints, absolutely! Though, if you’re thinking mechanic, I’d hear what Bob has to say, but pop down and speak to Jake ‘fix it all’ Mechanic in town.
Moral? There is one, honest…
While it is important to bounce ideas of various different people, it’s most important you speak to people already doing what you’re thinking you may want to do, be or become.
I mean if you need your accounts done you’ll go to an accountant, you’d hardly take it over Jake ‘fix it all’ Mechanic.
Are you seeing the moral yet?
Remember, the only person who places limitations on what you can do is ultimately yourself.
Like Napoleon Hill said. “What the mind of man (authors note and women:) can conceive and believe, it can achieve”.
While a nice sentiment you may want to keep in mind: all successful change in behaviour will be exactly proportional to the effort you put into it.
Speak to just one person and you have a single opinion.
Speak to ten and you have lot to think about! Whichever way you look at it you will always gain more by having ‘lots to think about’ and owe it to yourself to do so.
Ultimately this is important: you are the judge, the jury and dependent on how hard you work will be either the executioner or the saviour of your life.
Okay, and the sat nav?
I say, use ‘them’ sparingly – life is not the destination! Programme your own. If you need to use another’s, always have your intuition, it’s usually right- or else go over the cliff!
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