Living a Drifter’s Life?
Here’s How to Get Back on Track

“Purpose is the great divider that separates those who are simply living, from those who are truly alive.” ~ Alex Rogers

Do you ever find yourself asking “How in the world did I end up here?”

Maybe as a younger person, you had certain goals and dreams for your life. You had everything mapped out.

And now your life looks very different than the life you planned. There are many wonderful things that you would never have dreamed, but maybe there are some things about your life that frustrate you.

You wonder whether it’s even worth it to have goals. Maybe you no longer know what you want out of life. Maybe you’re afraid to ask of life what you really want because you’ve felt beaten down for so long.

You feel like you’ve disappointed yourself, your family, your teachers, and anyone who expected great things of you.

A drifter’s life

It’s early disappointments like these that cause us to shy away from setting big goals for ourselves. And if you’re religious or spiritual, doing this can feel pretentious at best and self-centered at worst.

Hence, many succumb to drifting through life. We ennoble the idea of drift by calling it surrender or selflessness or trust. We convince ourselves that having no goals is actually an enlightened spiritual path.

But growing up near the sea has taught me about the potentially destructive power of drifting. One day while on a swim, I found myself way off my path when a fast moving current took me out to sea. Luckily I noticed what was happening in time to swim out of the current and head back to shore.

Had I continued not paying attention to the direction I was headed, that swim could have ended in disaster.

But this is how most of us live. We drift along, hoping for something good to show up but making no effort to do the work necessary for these things to happen. So we drift far out to sea, allowing the powerful currents of life to take us to places we’d rather not go.

It doesn’t have to be this way

We all know what it’s like to drift along at one time or another in our lives. The great tragedy though is that, for many of us, drifting has become a way of life. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

If you want to stop the drift but you’re wary of setting goals for fear of disappointment, fear not. Here are a few concepts about goals, that if taken to heart, will help you stop the drift:

1. Start with what you don’t want

It’s true, most of us have a hard time describing what we want out of life—but we can easily identify the things we don’t want. If not knowing what you want is an obstacle to setting effective goals, start by writing down what you don’t want (e.g. “I don’t want my health to fail.” or “I don’t want to lose my marriage.” or “I don’t want to work in this soul-sucking job.”)

Stay with this process long enough and you’ll gradually work your way to finding out what you truly want.

2. Surrender the outcome and commit to the process

People who have tried goal-setting in the past without success often think that having goals is useless. But here’s an important truth:

The problem is not goals themselves but our attachment to outcome instead of our commitment to process.

Because when we focus on the process, the outcomes take care of themselves. A great way to keep this top of mind is to ask yourself “Who do I need to become in order to achieve my desired outcome?”

Then forget about the outcome and get to work on becoming the person you need to be.

3. Play the long game

Many people resist setting goals because they feel unable to craft the perfect plan for getting there in the shortest amount of time.

However, the goal setting process is a long game. This is a lifelong process of growth rather than a temporary path to the easy life.

Goals can be tweaked, modified, and changed as our lives change. And as we accomplish current goals, new and more demanding goals can be set.

Understanding this will help us through our setbacks.

It’s time to find out where you are

Ok. So if you feel like you’re totally in drift mode, don’t beat yourself up. And no, it’s not too late to chart a course.

But the most important thing to do right now is to find out where you are.

Michael Hyatt, my go-to person on the goal-setting process, has put together a free resource called the LifeScore Assessment. In it, you simply rate yourself in each of life’s ten domains. The tool then automatically calculates an overall score for you based on your responses.

This score will be a great starting point in helping you figure out where you are so you can decide what areas you need to focus on. You’ll begin to move off the drifter’s path and back onto your own life path.

Get back on track

Tired of drifting aimlessly, hoping that life will give you what you need?

Then it’s time to start swimming (or sailing or driving) in the direction you want to go.

You will live with purpose, joy, and meaning.

And instead of succumbing to the forces of the world, you’ll become a powerful force for good.