Life  is  not  an  accident.  A  coincidence.  Through  careful  choices  and  persistent planning,  you  can  control  what  happens  to  you.  That  sounds  boring,  doesn’t  it?  It’s not.  We  are  talking  about  your  future.  Your  heroine’s  journey!  The  best  way  to  deal with  the  future  is  to  invent  it.  Create    your  own  life  story.  Your  own  legend.  If  you live  your  life  wandering  around  aimlessly,  you’re  likely  to  end  up  in  a  sort  of  hell of Dante  as  visualized  by  Rodin.  If  you  live  you  life  bouncing  around,  reacting  to events and  circumstances,  you’re  giving  up  control  over  where  you  will  go  next.  This  is  a hell  of  a  way  to  live  –  it’s  stressful  and  frustrating,  and  not  creative  at  all.

I  believe  that  each  of  us  comes  prepackaged  with  a  reason  for  being,  a  heroine’s journey.  A  mission.  A  purpose.  Unfortunately,  there  is  no  operating  manual  or  help line  to  make  it  easy  to  figure  out  what  that  purpose  is.  Once  you  figure  out  what your  heroine’s  journey  story  is,  however,  life  is  sooo  much  easier  and  better.  It  means that  you  are  living  on  purpose.  This  translates  in  doing  the  right  work,  in  the  right environment,  with  the  right  people  and  using  your  talents  and  abilities  in  a  way that  benefits  others  as  well  as  yourself.   This  purpose  covers  every  aspect  of  your life,  including  having  people  to  love  and  who  care  about  you  (but  that’s  another travel  guide).

You  need  a  powerful  story  as  a  compass  to  navigate  by.  To  aim  for  (your  heroine’s journey).    A  storyline,  a  travel  map  so  you  can  plot  out  the  best  (and  even  most scenic  route,  if  that  turns  you  on)  to  get  where  you’re  going  (your  goals).  You  can get  blown  off  course  and  explore  new  cities,  meet  interesting  people  but  you  always have  that  heroine’s  journey  story  to  guide  you  back.  That’s  what  your  heroine’s  journey does  for  you. When  you  aren’t  sure  about  what  you  should  be  doing  with  your  life, it can  feel  like  you’re  in  free  fall.  For  some  the  rush  of  hurtling  to  the  ground  is exhilirating.  Some  don’t  even  seem  to  realize  that  they  don’t  have  anything  (a parachute)  to  stop  them  from  hitting  the  ground.

In  the  beginning  it  can  be  exciting  to  go  through  life  without  a  plan,  a  purpose,  a story.    Many  romantic  tales  have  been  spun  about  the  vagabond  life.  Just  remember that  these  stories  are  written  by  people  who  disciplined  themselves  just  enough  to put  pen  to  paper,  and  enough  to  sell  their  stories  or  art.      Being  in  control  of  your story  means  knowing  what  you  want  and  working  toward  it.  It  means  waking  up every  morning  saying:  “I’ve  got  the  best  job  in  the  world.  I  absolutely  love  what  I do.”.  If  you  can  say  that,  everything  else  in  your  life  will  fall  into  place.    Some people  know  early  on  what  they  want.  They’re  the  lucky  ones.  Most  of  us  struggle for  a  while  before  we  find  our  niche.  That’s  okay.  Enjoy  the  journey.  Consider  it a voyage  of  discovery  with  treasures  on  your  way.  Self  –  knowledge  is  a  wonderful thing.