Merrily We Roll Along

Along the Obed River, Tennessee

Do we go with the flow or fight the current?

The current often says, You have no say in the process so just roll along with me. Sometimes that's the right choice, but at other times we need to step ashore, get our bearings and consider another path to our goal.

Let's say you want to earn more money in your professional life. The flow in which you move pushes you along toward more responsibility and therefore more stress. They want to promote you at the firm, but then you must sleep with your cellphone on your chest, ever available to the powerful client. Some will say, Bring it on. I can do this! This in fact is what I have trained and sweated for, and I am willing to sacrifice some of my down time to move up.

But, perhaps the thought of the firm owning any more of your time, energy and peace of mind is unacceptable. The mere thought of the big client reaching into your nights, weekends, vacations and even holidays is enough to make you feel physically sick. And angry. You say to yourself, This isn't what I worked so hard in grad school to do with my life. I wanted to help the downtrodden, or soar in creative flight to change the world, or opt out of the rat race to become an activist with my degrees.

And thus you find yourself at the crossroads. Again. Wasn't it enough to chose the right college and suffer through work study and the weight of loans? Wasn't deferring your work life to fine-tune your skills in graduate school with the additional debt it brought sufficient? Shouldn't you be there by now, easily moving along in the stream of your life? So why doesn't this feel right?

These questions are similar and yet different for each of us. My path to this spot upon which I stand was unique to me. Yours is unique to you. But if you don't like the view from that place, and the stream as it flows on seems to be going somewhere you have no desire to visit, you have the opportunity to make another crossroads choice right now. Step out of the stream, if even for a few minutes a day, to get your bearings and consider your options. Disconnect from the constant communication with the world and listen to the energy within. 

You have a right to feel you are exactly where you are meant to be. And now, what next?