“What is the use of running when we are not on the right road?”
–German Proverb
As we travel the journey of life, we must continually re-evaluate our direction. What may have seemed like the desired destination in the past may no longer be so because of changes in our attitudes and values. Sometimes we focus on a goal and then race as fast as we can toward it. This can be a big mistake unless we are absolutely certain that we are running toward the right destination. No matter how fast we run, we will never get to where we want to be unless we are on the right road.
Most of us will find that as we travel the journey of life our expectations and goals will change many times. What may seem so important to us at the age of 30 may not seem nearly as important when we are 50, and at age 70, we may view things differently than at 50. Sadly, many people devote their entire lives to climbing the ladder of success only to discover that when they reach the top, the ladder is against the wrong wall.
When we plan a vacation trip, often we have only a general route in mind. We want to be flexible so that if something interests us along the way which is not on the direct route, we can make small detours from time to time. Such a trip is far more enjoyable than one in which we have no flexibility. The same is true of the journey of life.
Most of us take many detours along life’s pathway. Although some of us think we know exactly what we want from life while we are still young, most of us change our minds many times along the journey. This can be good. If our lives are not yielding the kind of results that we had hoped for, perhaps it is because we are traveling the wrong road and we should give serious consideration to changing our course.
We have but one life to live, and most of us want to live it to the fullest. If our chosen pathway through life seems to be leading us where we want to go, there is no reason to change direction. But if we are less productive and less happy than we think we might be if we were traveling a different road, perhaps we should at least consider a change. We must be very careful, though. We may have invested so much in the road we have been traveling for so long that it might be too costly to change course late in life.
Think about it.
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Copyright 2025
Allen W. Smith
