As I wait and watch a train click and clack its way past the crossing, I am reminded of a lesson that I divined years ago, a lesson about purpose and intentionality in life. It’s no secret that a train as large as the one I wait on to pass by requires a sizable engine to power it, to take it from one point to the next. It’s also no secret that the only direction that the powerful locomotive can travel in is the one laid out before it by a series of tracks and rails. These rails are intentionally laid out in a complex network of switches, which give the train options as to the direction it travels.
Imagine for a moment if there were no railway worker to throw the appropriate switches at the right time. Where would the train end up? The likely answer is that it would not end up at its desired location. In order to make a successful journey, the path must be intentionally laid out before the locomotive. As obvious as these facts are, the implications of the principals at play here seem to be lost on most of the people I know.
The big secret is that life is full of switches. There are big switches and little ones. I define these switches as points in life’s journey where an option is presented. Leave the switch as it is (follow the course you are currently on), or throw the switch, and change direction. Sadly, I see people often accepting life’s default switches and following blindly the path that is laid before them, giving no thought to options that are proffered repeatedly.
Do you think little kids close their eyes at night and dream of becoming a store clerk, or a middle manager at a temp agency when they grow up? No, of course not, they dream of being rocket-men and race car drivers. The reason they don’t end up fulfilling their fantasies is because they don’t know they can — because their parents never encourage them to discover what is really required to become a professional , or the school counselor told them to take business classes instead of writing their first novel. How many people do I know who have business degrees and now sell electronics? They say it’s something to fall back on — I say you can’t fall back if you never aspire to climb up. You sir, have allowed your life to travel its path in default, never throwing the switch.
Why do people not choose their own life’s path? I suppose it is because they are not aware that another option is available. There have been times in my life where I have taken great risks, where I have literally thrown the switch and changed the direction my life was traveling in. These moments are scary and stressful, but also invigorating and liberating. There is nothing like standing of the cusp of failure and working hard toward a defined life goal. It makes me sad that I know only a few people who have had these experiences.
My final thought is this: unless you want to waste your life, you have to throw the switch. Throw the switch, take the leap, make the choice. Be more intensional about your life. When you realize that you have around eighty years worth of experience to gain — and that’s all — it should scare the sh*t out of you, not because you are scared of dying, but because you may not be really living.
Quite unbelievable that no-one had commented this article before, but I think I will.
And excellent timing for me to read this, as I was thinking the same thing today.
I just have to take the switch myself, too, but giving a thought on this had really opened my eyes. People don’t waste their lives on empty careers and false promises just because they like to do so, or even made a choice to do so. They’re drifting. Without a clear direction.
It’s like you don’t get fat overnight. It takes time, and there may be many reasons for that gained weight; lack of exercise, bad eating habits, etc.
Same with pursuing dreams. People don’t reach their dreams after one dusk or before the next down. No. It happens over time, step by step, sometimes bigger ones, sometimes smaller ones.
Sorry the rambling, but I just wanted to really ponder on this and your article made me think.
Thanks for that.
Karri, Thanks for your ramble.
Last night I read Dr. Seuss’ “Oh, the places you’ll go!” to my new daughter. It was the first time that I had read it in my life. I was pleasently surprised by how much his sentiment mirrored the message of this article.
That was the last book published before his death, a sort of last testament, if you will.
Trav,
I like this article. I think a lot of people never jump out of their comfort zone, including me (and probably all of us) at times. I think between the two of, we both took a chance and flipped a switch that changed your life when you came to work for me. I know it didn’t work out as we had hoped, but taking that chance has enabled you to follow your passion and I’m glad I had a small part in that.
Rob
You know Rob, that is the other side to this story. Thanks for touching on that. While I feel that there have been many moments in my personal history that I was sucessful in throwing the switch, I can also identify a number where I was too scared, or just too uninformed to throw the switch.
I mentioned earler that last night I read Dr. Suess’ (who was, in fact, not a doctor) last book. In it he hits on that facet of the story by saying, ever so eloquently:
“Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.”
Thanks Rob, officially, for the part that you played in helping me throw one of my big switches in life. That is another part of the story entirely, that in order to throw the right switches sometimes it is necessary to surround yourself with good supportive people that you can trust and learn from.
No problem man. It’s been great watching you develop from having tons of potential (prior to your mission) into actually putting that potential into action once you learned the tools. I still remember teaching you HTML and Javascript back in the day then watching in amazement at what you turned it into. Every aspect of this website attributes to the fact you’re realizing your potential.
Aww shucks …
Travis,
You know what? I actually ordered that book after I read your reply. So thanks for the story, looks like a good book and maybe I can pass the good to someone else, too.
And congratulations on your new life with your little daughter, by the way!
Also; you have a really killer site here, excellent writing and the design is fantastic. I went back to see some of your previous posts today, but I’ll be sure to come back and check every one them out with time.
Karri,
That book is, for obvious reasons, the quintessential graduation gift. I believe it is marketed as such also. But reading it to my 3-day old last night was pretty huge for me. There is so much potential in that little bundle of blankets and diapers that it was a little overwhelming for me. I just want her to be able to be aware of the decisions — the switches — that are available to her on her life’s journey.
Thanks for reading and enjoying the blog, it adds a lot of value to me to keep going when readers like yourself come by and interact.
I read this back when you first posted it, but didn’t comment… not sure why. I’m really happy you brought my attention back to it today, though, as I really needed it. I’m definitely feeling the pressure to ‘throw the switch’ and make some changes to life. Thanks to you, at least some of the most important {and for me the scariest} business aspects are afloat and that’s a HUGE relief (as well as a kick in the pants to go forth and grow a business)!
I hope you don’t mind, but I posted a link to this post in a FB photo group I’m in with a few photographer friends. We’re all in our ‘beginning professional’ phase of life and could definitely appreciate the ‘make the leap’ tone.
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Travis nice job on this illustration of life and the opportunities that arrise throughout the journey of life. I want to propse a thought to consider though and I’ll quote the band Rush song Freewill:
You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill;
I will choose a path that’s clear
I will choose freewill.
We must as your suggesting take a stand in life and be the engineer of our life journey rather than be a paasenger on the A Train to nowhere fast ville.
When we’re young, we tend to throw switches at random, just to see what happens. Tug at the cat’s tail. Push the book off the table. Fling our food on the floor. We’re great switch-throwers because we have no idea about the consequences of our actions.
Parents in this regard have an extremely difficult job, which at points contradicts itself. They have to teach their children that their actions have consequences, and bigger ones than just getting a scolding. At the same time, it is imperative that they provide safe environments with lots of switches to flip that won’t cause catastrophes. It’s a veritable tight rope act, but neglecting it isn’t an option.
If you don’t teach your children about consquences, they will have great problems getting to where they want because they won’t know it takes dedication as well as passion for excellence. They will fail and give up more and more, eventually becoming unable to handle their own life because they never understood what consequences mean.
If you take away all the fun switches and make everything have dire consequences, you rob your children of their chance to experiment and to find out what they really want. They will become locked in a path and will shy away from opportunities like Gammas in Brave New World. They will let their life run on default, with the default settings first determined by you, then their employers and spouses. They won’t even dare making small adjustments to their life any more.
Both choices are equally miserable.
So, if you feel you’re locked in a certain path, try and regain that safe feeling by throwing small switches spontaneously. Instead of buying your usual brand of shampoo, go for an exciting new one. Instead of going to the same italian restaurant every week, switch gears and grab some Chinese. Instead of going to the cinema on Thursday, go to the theatre. Instead of the bungalow at the Great Lakes you always rent for two weeks in summer, go to Europe.
Make gradually bigger decisions, and feel how it empowers you. Soon, you will be strong enough to throw any switch you want. And you will.
If on the other hand you feel you fail at everything you try, pick one thing that you were passionate about as a child and try to become really good at it. Feel the sense of accomplishment that comes from finishing it. Celebrate successes, however small. Start by getting up early and regularly every morning. Spend an hour every day toward your goal. Wanted to become a fireman? Try out for their training. If you’re not fit enough, train. Stick with it. You want to get a job? Set small goals: collect and assess possible jobs one day. Make a list of all the contacts and their requirements the next. The day after that, write your resumé, after that the cover letter, and your bio. Make a few steps each day. Savour the success. Anything is possible if you stick with it.
I’m sorry if this has become overbearingly long. Sometimes it just pours out of me.
Berthold, Thank you for that wonderful insight. I really appreciate the time you took to collect and present your thoughts here, they are very insightful. Thank you.
Having just become a new father I have been looking at this very same problem that you have outlined. I want my daughter to be strong and disciplined, but at the same time I want her to be confident enough to take chances and follow her heart.
So there, a real life example of the very things you were writing about.
I think the switch analogy is one of the best concepts I have ever heard of. It serves as an analogy to really complex human problems, simplifying them to the point that what we now struggle with in terms of procrastination, of poor decisionsmaking, reluctance to change etc etc. rely can be expressed in small and big switches.
Applying this theory to all decisions we make is a learning process. For instance, I’m trying to establish visual design in the open source world, which is rather opposed to my suggestions. There is a lot of resistance (mainly because visual design is considered unnecessary decoration, and designers air-headed hacks), so my next approach will be taking baby steps, minute decisions that only take yes or no for an answer and don’t come loaded with all sorts of consequences. We’ll see if that works better.
Congratulations on becoming a dad, I envy and pity you at the same time
I can’t wait myself, but then again I need to finish my studies so I can really afford the time fatherhood requires.
Seeing as how you’ve already grasped what your daughter’s priorities are and how you can help her reach them (ample play time, quiet times), I’m sure you’ll make a great father.
I found your website from smashingmagazine.com and your thought is so amazingly match with my friend’s and my thought right now, we’re thinking about purpose, long term vision, passion, strength, everything about it.
The idea is not to work in hell but working in passion. We have to find what is our passion first, what’s our dream, what’s making us flaring, that’s should be our strength. There are many people not working in an area that they don’t really enjoy only, maybe only 20% people enjoying their job. A lot of people have no courage to switch their directions because they’re afraid not to get a big amount of salary (to pay this and that bills). But if we work in our passion excellently than then money is the one that going to chase us.
Btw, congratulations for your baby girl