“How do I know if I’m on the right path?”
Several things we look to for guidance that *don’t* help us know if we’re on the right path: Awards (We can win doing the wrong thing. Ask any competitor.)Comfort (Often a luxury of wealth, rarely a sign of faithfulness to our intended work.)Affirmation (Positive feedback must be sifted through carefully. The same is true with criticisms.)Linearity (Life and vocation never follow a straight line. Don’t force them to. Be suspicious if they do.)
The path usually doesn’t have signs, it's rarely marked with clean boundaries, and the horizon is only occasionally within view. But there is a topography to it, a curvature that resonates, a slope that makes sense. And it can only be take one, maybe two, steps at a time. Of the right path, I’ve heard it said like this: You’ll know you’re on it when you’re following the grain in your own wood.
