When you find yourself off-course: The basics

We all need to stop every few years - even every few months - and re-evaluate where we are and where we really want to be.

It was just that kind of self-evaluation that had originally led me to start the Karma-Net web site in 1998. I had run a wide variety of businesses up to that point - and although I felt each contributed to my knowledge and experience-base, I just hadn't hit on the right combination yet - and that particular self-evaluation about 16 years ago led to my deciding to change course completely - and move into a field where I'd be able to focus on developing online education programs that promote wellness and mindful habits.

Over the years since then, I've been through many different personal re-evaluations (encompassing both minor and major changes) - and with each change, I feel I've been able to better refine my own personal path. Today, this site is just a very small part of our overall work, but the fact that it's still up online - and in the process of being updated for 2014 - is very interesting.

Embrace Change

As the years progress, our lives progress as well. Our environment changes, our relationships change, our family structure changes. We learn, we grow, we become wiser (hopefully) with time. The world around us changes - those closest to us change and grow as well. Embrace these changes - and incorporate them each time to pause to evaluate your path.

There are two main types of ongoing life-evaluations - short-term and longer term. The short-term self-evaluations usually need to occur every few months and are meant to bring minor adjustments in our path if necessary. The longer-term self-evaluations are the big ones. These lead to the major readjustments we need to make every few years or so. These major readjustments are not always due to our straying far off-path. Often, with time, new knowledge and life-experience, our paths may require some adjustment.

Everyone seems to have their own cycle of change. For me, the cycle is usually every 3 - 4 years. In fact, I have just begun this process of evaluation once again. It is an ongoing process.

While we almost never know it at the time they happen, seemingly small decisions and minor changes in how we live often lead to major changes and developments in our lives down the road. Over the course of months, years and decades, those changes can often be very dramatic.

I'm sure that many of you reading this had also set out on a particular course in life, only to wake up several years later in an entirely different place. Maybe you even felt that you were miles off-course.

While you may feel that you're a long distance from your destination in life, it is those
seemingly small decisions and minor changes you start making TODAY, that will guide you ever closer to where you want to be.

You know the old saying, "the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"?

Well, that single step you take today will bring you closer toward your goal.

There is another old saying...

"The best time to plant a tree was 35 years ago.
The second-best time is today."

You can't change the past..., NOW IS THE TIME

People often feel that, because of years of procrastination, that they've forever missed the chance to realize their dreams. That's simply not true. Life is, after all, a journey of self-discovery. Occasionally we have to make adjustments in our path - as long as we keep moving in a direction that is true to ourselves at that particular point in time, we'll likely never get too far off-track. Even if you've had a history of making choices that were untrue to yourself, you can still recover. Remember, everything starts right now.

This type of understanding requires us to take a hard and honest look at ourselves. Many people strongly resist looking at themselves in an unfiltered way for fear of feeling like a failure, or realizing that the person they are is light-years away from their true selves - having convinced themselves over the years that they are really who and where they wanted to be.

Join the club!

Almost everyone is living a life colored by pre-conceived notions of what, where, when and how. All things we've been conditioned to believe by our cultural background, our parents, friends, family and even media. When you can strip away those layers and see yourself for who you really are - then you'll be on your way to a life in harmony with YOU.

Don't be afraid of looking at your self and your life honestly! This type of realization is NOT something bad. In fact, it can lead to amazing things in your life if you let it.

When I look back now, I realize that it is the sum of all the things I've done that have led me to all the things I have today that I hold precious - and wouldn't change a single thing. But I also know that I am able to make changes in my life today, as I have in the past, that will point me ever closer to my goal of living in complete harmony with ME.

Take some time today to evaluate where you are at this point in your life. If you're living your dreams and ideals now - and have realized everything you want in life, then congratulations! However, if you find that you're not on track to reaching the important personal goals you have set for yourself in the past - or desire for the immediate future, then by all means, make some changes starting today.

Your life is precious and short. By being true to yourself, you are making your life full and the world a better place.