You Are Here!
Think about your last trip to a shopping mall. In particular, think about a trip to a mall in which you were not familiar with where a particular store is, or where perhaps a place to eat might be. Most likely the mall has a map at all its entrances and key traffic spots throughout the mall. All of these maps most likely look exactly alike, except for one key piece of information. On each map in the mall, even if each and everyone look exactly alike, there is the one spot on the map with the red dot with the words, YOU ARE HERE. Without the red dot pointing out where you are currently, the map is not much help to you.
Life is much like that when navigating the transitions in your life. There are likely destinations you have targeted. The choices of routes you can choose to take to where you want to get to may be many and varied. It is possible that you may have the same destination as another person. However, only you can evaluate your current circumstances, the route you need to take, and what that may mean on reaching the destination that you seek.
There are several items that can make a transition difficult. Two of the most critical pieces of information center on knowing where you are now and where do you want to be. Having clarity on both of these points is essential for making a complete transition. And, while clarity on both points does not necessarily guarantee a complete transition, (after all you still need to then determine what action steps you will need to take to get you from where you are now to where you want to wind up), the lack of that clarity keeps many stuck in transition for long periods of time.
So how does one get that clarity? One way is to go back to the concept of the mall. Build your own map to get you where you want to be. The building of the map is not all that hard. For many it is easier to actually start at the end point. What is your VISION that you want to accomplish and by what specific target date do you want to get there? Often the VISION destination is going to require several stopping points along the way. So, note down some specific milestones that you need to accomplish to reach the vision. Note the target dates on those milestones. Do those milestone dates look realistic? Do they have to be extended out? Will that mean the date to obtain the VISION have to be pushed out? If that happens, IT IS NOT A PROBLEM. Remember you are building your own private map. You have the right to reconstruct it as you gain more information. It is based on items that have to occur in the future, so they actually have not happened yet. The key is to make the map useful for you, so by no means should you let the map rule you. You have control of its details on how you plan to make the transition you choose.
Milestone dates most often need to be detailed down further. For example, a given milestone may have multiple areas requiring attention. Those areas in turn bring you back to two very central questions, “Where do I want to be by?” and “Where I am today?” Your ability to honestly answer those questions will allow you to then identify the activities you need to take and need to monitor to get you through your transition in the way that most meets your needs.
Picture a mall with which you have no familiarity, and not having a map. If you enjoy shopping and strolling and discovering where different things are on your own, you likely would not be concerned about having a definitive map to get you where you want to be. And, that’s perfectly fine, if the transition you are experiencing is one in which you are willing to accept that which happens as it occurs. However, if you are one who likes your path laid out, are definitive in getting to your goals and get frustrated easily if you are knocked off course, the mall map analogy is a great example as to one way you may want to navigate the transitions in your life.
