One of my most embarrassing moments took place several years ago at my son’s class field trip. The class was going to one of Florida’s original theme parks, Jungle Adventures. I was sure the day would create a lot of fun memories for Luke and me.
The morning of the field trip, we met at the school. At this time in my son’s life, he was bound to a wheelchair. Therefore, his teacher permitted us to drive separately and instructed us to follow the yellow school buses to our destination. There was no way to lose a big, yellow bus, so I didn’t bother to even get directions. Luke’s teacher gave me her cell phone number just in case we got separated. As we approached a major intersection, I decided to go around the bus in front of us so Luke could wave at his friends on the bus. When I pulled back into the lane, we were in front of the bus we’d been following. I noticed there were several other yellow school buses lined up at the stoplight. When the light turned green, the buses in front of us turned right and drove up the onramp of the interstate. I followed them, even though it seemed a bit odd that the buses behind us went straight instead of turning right. I really didn’t give it too much thought because I was confident I was doing the right thing by following the yellow school buses in front of me.
But soon, doubts began to surface. What if we were supposed to go with the other buses? This was the way to Jungle Adventures, wasn’t it? Unwavering in my resolve to keep following the yellow buses, I drove on and we all finally arrived in a parking lot about 30 minutes later. I noticed there was a huge gator head with a sign that read “Gatorland.” With a perplexed look on his face, Luke exclaimed, “Wait a minute, Dad! This is not where our class is going! We’re supposed to be at Jungle Adventures.”
About that time, my cell phone rang. Luke’s teacher asked “Did you get lost?” In a state of denial, I explained, “We’re at Gatorland!” Luke and I raced across town to join his class. I’d done exactly what I thought was right, but it was very wrong. I followed the buses, but I followed the wrong buses.
Andy Stanley says, “Everyone ends up somewhere, but few people end up somewhere on purpose.” How many times have we set out to achieve New Year’s resolutions only to end up in a place 12 months later that we never intended to be?
Here are three things you can do this new calendar year to keep you moving in the right direction to achieve your goals:
1. (Re)direct your purpose.
When people lose their “why,” they have a tendency to lose their way. Keep your “why” at the forefront in everything you do. Knowing your purpose will help you stay focused on your vision and being your best in reaching your desired goals in the most important areas of your life. Tyron Edwards once said, “Thoughts lead on to purpose, purpose leads on to actions, actions form habits, habits decide character, and character fixes our destiny.”
2. (Re)direct your priorities.
Notice the word “prior” in the word priorities. Knowing your purpose “prior” to all the temptations and keeping your “why” in front of you at all times will help you decide up front what the non-negotiables are in your life (faith, vibrant marriage, quality time with kids, good health, integrity, etc.). Knowing your purpose will help you stay true to your vision and priorities so that when the “priority prowlers” come knocking, you can say “no” to the good and “yes” to the best.
3. (Re)direct your passion.
When we lose our passion, it’s usually because we have made the wrong turn along the way that has caused us to follow the wrong bus that is taking us further away from our purpose. Rediscovering your passion will help you rediscover your purpose. Remember, if you don’t follow the right bus (your vision and purpose), you could end up at “Gatorland.”
To learn more, check out rethinklife.com.
