The Direct Path

by Gregory Allen Butler

There is a lot of emphasis in Personal Development about choosing the direct path to the goal. It seems an obvious enough truth. But life in the 21st century is a life of global distraction. If we want to get to our goal in direct fashion, we better have plenty of focus, motivation, and determination. And we better know what we want.

If we know what we want, then we do not need to listen to the advice of anybody else about what our goals should be. A young Joseph Campbell said, "To hell with it," when his Columbia University advisor insisted that his curriculum of study for his doctorate be more narrow. Campbell knew even then in 1931, that to have a narrow field of study was contrary to following his bliss. He quit the program.

Sincerity of purpose alone will assure our success, as it is the best organizing principle of focus, motivation, and determination.

What is sincerity of purpose? To me it is being honest with your self. It's knowing what your deepest purpose in life is and setting out to create that life. If your purpose is to write novels that will inspire people to live meaningful lives, then that is what you do. After all, that is what gives you the deepest sense of being alive. When your soul is thrilled by a purpose, then you know it has been found.

But lets complicate the issue by entertaining the possibility of someone offering you, the aspiring author of novels that will inspire people to live meaningful lives, a huge sum of money to write a steamy novel about sex, influence, and politics. Do you turn it down? Yes, if you have been honest with yourself. You know what your goal is and you choose to keep it in your sights.

To say yes to the offer would be a distraction. Your path would be detoured.

In that example, knowing true purpose made it possible to keep the focus. It also kept the motivation on the writing to inspire people to live meaningful lives. The detour would not only delay reaching the goal, but the motivation would be supplanted.

A new motivation would come into play-the desire to make a huge sum of money. The determination to realize the original goal would have to be replaced by a new determination-a determination to do something that is not aligned with your deepest purpose in life. And that creates internal conflict, which causes confusion.

In this case, if you were to go off the direct path, you would start to doubt yourself as to what your purpose of life really is. When your heart, mind and spirit are not working together towards the same goal, you are spinning your wheels. It doesn't matter what path you are on-you're not going anywhere.

This is not to say that you can't turn off the path to get some rest, or to have some entertainment, and spend time with family and friends. We are human beings, not robots. That's all factored into being on the right path. If being a human being is not part of our purpose in life, then what are we doing here?

Have you embarked on a major life goal already? Do you remember the day that you decided on your goal, on the path to take? Do you remember the feelings that you felt when you made your decision? Focus on that. It will help keep your goal clear. The feelings are a huge part of the meaning behind your decision. If you are in touch with the meaning, then you will have the motivation to take the necessary steps to reach your goal. The meaning helps keep you from being sidetracked. It also is the source of the motivation and energy to reach the goal. Without the meaning as the impetus to reach the goal, you are likely wasting your time and setting yourself up for failure. And even if you succeed, have you really succeeded?

Can you imagine climbing to the top of Mt. Everest and saying to yourself, "What's the big deal?" When you reach your goal you want to have the experience of being truly alive.

That's why so many people have a mid-life crisis. They have reached their goals and are confronted with the question: "Is that all there is to life?"

You could spend a whole lifetime chasing after goals but if they don't enliven you, you would have wasted your life. Get that part down first. Take time to get in touch the experience of being alive. Do some soul searching.

I like to quote George Bernard Shaw on meaning: "This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one…"

When your goal is aligned with the deepest experience of being alive, there is no way you will be pulled off the direct path. The attraction is so strong that nothing could ever deter you. A diver looking for pearls is not distracted by seashells