Can You Take The Detour With Joy?
How we live our journey makes all the difference in the world
Most of us do not like detours. I know I usually don’t.
How about you?
However, I now try to see detours differently. And it has helped me live my life more fully.
Doing so has also allowed me to adjust to this current period of my life.
A detour is the route we do not choose to take but must do so.
We are mostly upset because it is not the route we have chosen, it usually takes us longer, and can cause meaningful disruption in our lives.
I have been on numerous business trips and vacations where I encountered a detour. In most cases, I still arrived safely though it involved at least some difficulty and, at times, real hardship.
I also found it offered meaningful experiences, learnings, and, if I allowed it to, some beauty and even joy.
Lesson to Learn
Detours are a part of our journeys.
They can be disruptive and difficult for us, our organizations, and our families. However, they usually are required.
All of us are on a massive and unavoidable detour right now.
Our lives have been altered in unimaginable ways.
We did not choose this detour, but we need to find a way to embrace what it offers.
What new opportunities to serve others have appeared?
How can we navigate this new world together?
Can we still find beauty and joy in our journey?
We must try to go all-in on what is being created as we move into the future.
Answer for Me
Many of my most memorable journeys in life involved detours.
For instance, I was planning on a simple life in my home state of Nebraska. Then I was offered a chance to attend a top military academy and enter the United States Army. I took the detour through West Point. The journey has been challenging — and unforgettable. It changed my life forever. How? I embraced the detour.
Once, I got on the wrong train in Italy while on vacation. It resulted in one of the best vacation days of my life. How? Once on the detour, I enjoyed the trip with my wife because we did it together.
In either case, I had the choice to embrace the journey or complain and reject it.
My attitude and my efforts are up to me to choose.
I chose to embrace the detours — and I am so grateful I have done so during the many detours of my life!
Action
When life gives you a detour, stop and evaluate your choices. Many times, the detour is unavoidable.
If this is the case, embrace the detour and find a way to live it with passion and joy.
Ask yourself questions to help you find your new attitude and actions.
Questions such as the following can help.
What opportunity has been presented because of this detour or challenge?
Who can I help along the way?
What is the best attitude I can take into the detour? Can I be attentive, learn from others, create something new and valuable, and find joy on the journey?
When we can adjust our attitude and actions, we can create a life we can be proud of and enjoy!
Daily Habits
See your days as opportunities to learn, love, laugh, and contribute.
You may not get to do all of them each day, but the more you learn, love, laugh, and contribute, the richer your days and life will be.
Start each day out with habits that will enhance your day and remember that your days will often offer you detours.
When you take them, do so joyfully so that your journey is filled with meaningful events and actions.
You only get one life. Live it in a way you will remember with pride and a smile.
To learn more about leadership visit me at www.macny.org.
To get a copy of my book Present-Future Leader, go to www.amazon.com.