Trajectory of Choices

How has the trajectory of your career helped and/or hurt you?

Expansion.

A word shared by John Maxwell himself this morning. This week, it fits perfectly with my blog concept. Mr. Maxwell shared that expansion is increasing our capacity for growth.

My path in leadership is now in its 11th year. I’ve been on a wild ride as this trajectory of growth continues to develop. Growth is a constant upward trajectory if we are willing to learn from everything along the way. There have been ups and downs, excitement and despair, success and disappointment. But it has all contributed to my growth and personal development.

As I get older, I find myself reflecting more often. This week, I have been thinking about how the trajectory of my career has impacted my life and the lives of those I love.

Has your career given you more positives than negatives? What impact has your career had on your life and the lives of those you love?

For us, the good has outweighed the bad in most instances. The positive experiences have far outweighed the negatives.

We have moved to three states, and many great experiences and opportunities have presented themselves along the way. We have a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. We will soon have a son-in-law, and our other son is finishing his last year of college.

Some may look at these moves and see chaos, a lack of structure, or even irresponsibility when it comes to our family. From the outside, it may look like a mess.

The truth is, the good has far exceeded our expectations.

Our trajectory has moved us toward a better life. My growth has expanded my capacity to grow even more.

But with a positive trajectory in our careers, there are undoubtedly negative ripples in our lives as well.

For me, the distance from our extended family is probably the biggest challenge. I also think about the financial impact. Yes, over the course of 11 years, we have seen our pay and benefits improve. But retirement savings and paying down our debt have suffered a bit. We don’t have a home that is paid off, and retirement is now a short distance away.

Where has your trajectory impeded you or the plans you once had?

Here is my perspective after countless hours of reflection:

Live life like an adventure.

In fact, I have a sign in my office that reads, “And so the adventure begins.”

Life is amazing. We never truly know where we will end up if we don’t make the decisions we made along the way.

One of the ideas I often use in coaching is to embrace the unknown. Not in an irresponsible way, but by taking calculated risks. Sometimes, taking a good risk can benefit you in ways you never could have anticipated.

Consider where you would be today if you hadn’t pushed the envelope a little.

What good has come to you because of a career choice you made early in life?

How will you choose to view and reflect on the difficulties created by your decisions?

What would your life look like if you hadn’t made a particular decision?

When we look in the mirror, each of us has to live with our choices.

But we also get to decide how we view them.

Practicing gratitude forces us to recognize all the good that has transpired because of the choices we have made. It is easy to zero in on the negative ripples. It is much harder to step back and see the entire trajectory.

We must be willing to truly reflect on our lives.

Imagine for a moment that you had not made a certain choice in your life or career. Where would you be right now?

Are you better off because of the path you chose?

I would argue that you are.

The choices may have been difficult in the moment. You may have questioned whether you were making the right decision. But over time, those choices may have opened doors you never expected. New opportunities appeared. Relationships developed. Experiences shaped you.

Most importantly, you grew.

Your choices created a trajectory.

And that trajectory brought you here.

Maybe the goal isn’t to look back and wish we had chosen differently. Maybe the goal is to recognize how the choices we made—both the good ones and the difficult ones—helped shape who we are becoming.

We cannot change the trajectory behind us.

But we can choose the direction we take from here.

~ Steve