Life is constantly changing and progressing. And this is good! When there is no progress in life, when we stay still for too long, it becomes difficult to feel happy.
Imagine you are water. Water that is progressing, is flowing. Flowing water overtime creates channels which shape the landscape.
Conversely, water that is stagnant becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes, algae and other bacteria. It also stinks. We do not want to remain stagnant. Stagnation causes us to feel as though we are going backwards and this can be deeply dissatisfying. If we are not moving forward, and not broadening our knowledge and experiences, we cease to shape our landscape.
One way to stop the stagnation, is by setting and achieving goals. But, how exactly do we progress? How do we ensure we flow?
Well, I am no scientist, but progress requires momentum, and we can look at momentum as the sum total of speed, weight and direction.
Imagine a golden chariot. In order to move our chariot from point A to point B (to progress), it needs to be moving (speed), it needs cargo (weight) and it needs a destination (direction). Let’s break this down further:
Speed relates to our commitment, passion, motivation and drive. There are people who load up with cargo (knowledge) and know exactly where they want to go (direction), but without the self-discipline, the motivation, the resilience, and the speed – with no ‘horse-power’, they don’t end up going anywhere.
Weight relates to such things as knowledge, learning, skills, experience and qualifications. Without this ‘weight’, we may get where we want to go, but then have nothing to deliver! Imagine a highly ambitious individual who wants to run the company, who suddenly makes the leap to the top of the hierarchy (direction + speed), but who hasn’t yet developed the baseline skills and knowledge on business management (the weight). They will find themselves in struggle city!
Direction relates to knowing the target, the end destination. This requires clear goals, plans and purpose. You could have the speed (the motivation), and the weight (skills), but without knowing where you are headed, instead of Sparta, you could end up in Athens.
Progress is important for our wellbeing. We should never stop learning and experiencing new things. To make dedicated progress towards shaping our selves and our lives, we need to make sure our goals have speed, weight and direction. Most importantly, we should never allow ourselves to become stagnant.
The Warrior-Womxn's Guild 