Men are in a perpetual state of drifting. We live life with no purpose, no strategy, no vision or passion. We go through the same motions day-by-day. We are in a fog and we often are unable to bring hope and clarity to our lives until a life event or tragic experience happens that forces us to wake up. Even then, most of us are afraid to step out and do something different because of internal fears and external pressures.
Drifters are men who don’t have a call-to-action for their life. They are reactionary rather than leading and being pro-active. They don’t have a reason for their existence. Drifters are often men who adhere to the status quo and do what other people tell them to do without thinking about the reason why they are doing it. Drifters, (although not always) are “Yes Men”. The problem with drifting is that if you don’t recognize you are drifting, half your life can potentially be floating away and because you didn’t have the awareness and foresight to bring a boat or paddle, it would be extremely difficult for you to navigate your way back to shore.
Drifting comes from not having intentionality for your life. It occurs when we are not paying attention to the caution, the yield signs and stop signs in life. We are so often driven to climb the corporate or business ladder of success as fast as we can, (living in the fast track) that we pay no attention to the other important aspects of our life that really matter. We often drift when we don’t know what we want in our life. We haven’t taken inventory of who we are and what our desires may be and we settle for what others say we should do and be.
Drifting leads to a silent death. It often happens when we are overwhelmed and can’t seem to get a moment to catch our breath or think about the next decision. We make decisions based upon a quick fix rather than slowing down and executing a patient remedy.
Consequences of drifting include an internal state of confusion, missing out on opportunities, manifestation of more pain in your life, life regrets that ravish the soul and the forfeit of exploring life to its fullest. As drifters, we have decided to not engage in life – rather allow life to happen to us. We’ve resolved in our own mind that life is not greener on the other side and we don’t believe that hard work with a little bit of initiative can go far.
So how do you recover from drifting in life?
- Become clear about your purpose
- Be honest with yourself at all times. Own your current reality and understand how you got to the place you are in
- Surround yourself with mentors you respect and who will keep you accountable
- Commit yourself every day to engage in activities that will help you achieve your goal
- Become clear about your priorities and be committed to them
- Remove yourself from the areas of life that are distractions and temptations for you
- Pray! Know that God deeply loves you . He has a plan for your life and His desire is to see you live the dreams He has given you
- When you find yourself drifting, review #’s 1-8 again.