This past month, in training with Ann Betz (neuroscience expert in the coaching field), she referred to our brains as predictability machines. The brain likes to know, to predict, what is to come.

As predictability machines, when things “go awry,” when life happens and when the road we travel does not lead us where we expect, or better yet, turns into a mud pit, it’s actually easier for our brain to struggle against what is, than to see the open, often brightly lit, pathway off to the side. The brain would rather stay in the muddy trenches than navigate into the unknown.

Scott M. Peck said, “the biggest problem of map-making is not that we have to start from scratch, but that if our maps are to be accurate we have to continually revise them...”

As we continue to dive into 2018 and plug away at our goals, shooting like Wayne G. (last blog) you may have visions of how the year will unfold.

That plan, that vision, that roadmap is fundamental to creation. However, there isn’t “one-way” to traverse our maps.

When I reflect back on 2017, I had a vision and I knew the routes which would “get me there.” On various occasions I was so close, I could literally taste the adventure down avenue ahead, but then suddenly, as if through thin air, closed for repairs, or roadblock warnings emerged.

In those moments, once I got over the frustration, confusion, or “threat” to my journey; once I re-assessed, I soon realized there were other exciting, perhaps more growth-inducing pathways open for the taking.

If we are willing to use our erasers, to redraw the lines and pathways, when we look back at those revised, amended plans, we might be shocked at its beauty.

So when roadblocks occur, have faith, be open, and keep walking. And know that as you do, it might mean redrawing the lines… every best cartographer had to.

With love,

Rachel