Getting lost is a kick in the pants that tells you it’s time to change.  Or not.

Over the summer I was invited to go camping in a remote area of the Adirondack Mountains.  I’d never been to the location before, so I plugged the address into my GPS.  I brought along some printed directions just in case.

Cell service was spotty, but my GPS worked long enough to deliver me to my “destination”.  Unfortunately, there was no campsite.  Instead, my GPS had led me directly to an old cemetery.  I checked my printed directions, and they turned out to be even less helpful.

I tried calling my friends who were already at the campsite, but I got no answer.  It turns out there was no cell service there.  I was thoroughly lost.

What now?  I had a few choices.

DENY THAT I WAS LOST

I could have told myself that everything was fine, unpacked my gear, set up my tent and enjoyed a private camping retreat in the cemetery.  It would have been a little lonely though.

GIVE UP

I could have admitted to myself that I was lost, set my tent up in the cemetery, and then shaken my fists and complained to the heavens about how unfair it all was.  I still would have been stuck in the cemetery.

CHANGE THE DESTINATION

I could have accepted that I was lost and then decided that it would be impossible or too difficult to reach my intended destination.  Maybe there would have been another nice option between the cemetery and the campsite.  Or I would have camped in my car.

CHANGE THE TACTICS

I could have performed an honest appraisal of the situation and decided…

  • I still really wanted to make it to the campsite
  • My current tactics were not likely to get me there

It’s clear that the last option is usually the most desirable when we’re physically lost.  But it can be harder when we feel adrift in our career or a personal situation.

I found my campsite in the end, but only after I ditched the GPS and the directions.  I started speaking to the local residents, and after several conversations I was headed in the right direction.  Same destination, different tactics.

There’s a great line in an Eagles’ song: “So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains, and we never even know we have the key”.

Accepting that you’re lost is like finding your key.  Adopting new tactics and revising them until you reach your destination is using it.