Look Up!
Our children are just starting to ride their bikes independently. They can even start from a stand still, pedal, and get going without assistance. This new found talent seemed to bloom overnight.
One thing I noticed as I observed them exercising this new skill is that one action leads to total discombobulation. You know what it is? Looking down. They look down and the entire cycling experience goes off the rails; there’s uneven pedaling, wobbly, steering, and eventually toppling. I’m now in the habit of yelling, “You’ll go where you’re looking!”, and I can see them make that adjustment mid-ride.
They look down because they’re uncertain. They don’t know that by looking down they’re turning their psychological uncertainty into real world problems. But I know it, because I can see it, so I remind them to look up. By reminding them to look up, I’m giving them a vision.
We do that in life, don’t we? We look down, sometimes for years, and we’ve got the bumps and bruises to show for it. If that’s how you feel, let me ask you this, do you have a vision? I don’t mean a goal, or a destination even, do you have anything you can just look at to help keep you on the bike.
Contrary to everything I’ve heard on all social media platforms over the last forever-and-a-day. You do not need an 18 step plan to world domination. All you need is something to look at something that takes your eyes off the ground and puts them on the horizon.
As long as you're looking up you can pedal, as long as you’re pedaling you can stay upright, and as long as your upright you can keep moving.
Do you have a vision? Do you have the space in your day, weeks, and months to describe what you can see if you squint? Look out five years from now, what do you see. If the answer is nothing, how would it feel to look out that far and get a blurry glimpse of a rough outline. It shouldn’t be a specific thing and it doesn’t need to be crystal clear. It’s a marker in the distance, a place to aim.
One tool we can use to bring something into focus is a journal. You can start this on Monday if you’d like.
Journal Questions (Just write the questions, do not answer them for at least two weeks)
What would I like my life to look like in five years?
Where would I like to be in five years?
How would it feel if those things became reality?
The most important aspect of these questions is asking them regularly. Find a cadence that works for you. We aren’t trying to write dream journals, aspirations or provide elaborate answers. We’re just asking questions. Right now, we’re just trying to look up.
If you squint, what can you see?
Love looking here, ahead and up! Beautiful read ❤️