When it comes to goals and plans, it seems we all have plenty: Plans for our families, homes, work and lives are talked about, thought about, and written down. When we catch up with friends or family, we often exchange plan updates with them: “Last time I saw you I was trying to accomplish X but have since decided to move in this other direction…”. They reciprocate by providing their plan updates.
But what if you don’t know where you are headed? Sometimes a current situation be it health, family, financial or professional becomes prickly. What used to feel settled and cozy is no longer comfortable. It becomes unsustainable and over time, if left unchecked even unbearable. When this happens, the imagination starts to engage, and it becomes clear that some action/change is needed. It’s that voice that we all have trying to speak in ways we can hear it.
But how do we know what to do next, if we don’t have that “plan?” Shouldn’t we sit tight in the discomfort? The devil we know is better than the devil we don’t? Somewhere between knowing its time to act (“I must do something differently!“) and getting clear on the plan (”But I have no idea what to do!)” the momentum needed to kick it into gear, stalls out. It’s easy to pursue a goal that is clear. But it is not easy to plan, when the destination has not yet been revealed.
My suggestion? Act anyway! The prickly pushing and discomfort must be honored, even when we don’t know what it means. Just because we don’t know where we are going, does not mean we should stay on the path we know is no longer for our journey. I have experienced this very obstacle of getting stuck between insight and action so many times, but never really had the words to describe it.
Then I heard a quote from Michael Beckwith and now I do have the words! When change comes calling, Michael says: “First, the pain will push you…then, the Vision will pull you.” In other words, not having a plan is not an indication that its not time to act. Listen to the discomfort, then stay alert for the vision to reveal itself. Allow ourselves to be pushed, until eventually the current comes around and the pull takes over.
In my experience is, it always does. Also my experience, we won’t always like it.