Do you remember?
Do you remember the first time you really saw what was going on? How things were unfolding? What was coming for you?
Do you remember that first moment where you first started to understand why everything happened the way it did in the past and how that has brought you into this moment? That can be a pretty exciting wave crashing through your mind.
I feel like I’ve had a few of those.
My story began just over 6 years ago and after having spent all of this time writing my heart out and pouring what was in my soul onto the pages I’ve learned that there’s another journey for me to take. I’m not sure what to call this one. All I know is that traveling back into Europe and around the world is going to bring me a completely different type of perspective of life.
A few years ago, when I really started to figure out what I wanted to do with myself, I had this dream of traveling the world and discovering what was really out there. I think not seeing places and not experiencing different types of people keeps you in the dark to what really is out there for you to take in.
So I started working. The crazy thing about all of this is, I never really 100% knew that the path I was on was going to take me to where I wanted to end up (that dream). I just felt that it was the right way to go and if I continued down that route – adjusting to a few speed bumps along the way – that I would make that dream happen.
It really hasn’t been easy.
There have been some serious setbacks. I’ve had to completely restructure my coaching and how I work with people. I’ve actually had to come back to the states for some time to rebuild and restructure and get ready to start all of this over again. There have been lots of stories that I’ve had to deal with that have tried to derail me.
But something in me keeps telling me to head in “that direction.”
Now when my mind looks at “that direction” it looks like a gigantic bank of fog and I start getting that thinking emoji that’s available on everyone’s phones.
But you have to go anyway. If anything, I’ve learned that the only time I really end up where I need to be is in trusting my intuition and taking note of the things my head has to say, but not living from that place completely. Trying to figure it all out (the future) is really a completely useless task. It’s not going to happen the way you think it is…but if you follow those whispers deep within you will end up exactly where you need to be.
So as I head into this next trip, I understand that I need to keep the blood moving, put a little bit more pressure on myself to explore and take advantage of the places I am living, and to really go for it.
Because last time, in all honesty, I was like a dog that just caught a car – I had no idea what to do with any of it.
It almost paralyzed me in a way.
It was out of this paralysis that I started to break free and really understand that my greatest joy and enthusiasm for life was actually being amongst people, connecting, and standing in a place that I had never been before. I think I rushed myself last time. I also think that there were some external forces at play that really had an impact on my stress levels and I couldn’t appreciate what I had as much as I would have liked.
I’m changing that.
You can gain a lot of wisdom looking back. You can start the reasons why things didn’t work or did work. If you can take that – the past – and actually use it to your advantage, your life is going to bloom. Mine is. I’m using everything I have learned and going back and chewing on all of these amazing lessons of life.
I’m heading into the new and using the old to support that journey.
I don’t think I could ask for anything else.
Evan Sanders
The Better Man Project