10 Apr What’s Your Story: Are You A Navigator?
During the past 30+ years as a psychologist and life coach, I have had the opportunity to see people at their best and at their worst: gracious and generous, yet also suspicious, angry and victimized. Some have been highly resilient, while others have seemed to crumble when faced with frustration and disappointment. Many engage their days with a sense of optimism and expectations for future success and improvement. Others obsess over mistakes and grievances from the past and worry about imaginary catastrophes in their future.
There are many ways we can describe ourselves, and several different ways in which we can distinguish ourselves from others. I have found the terms Navigator, Survivor and Victim to be very useful in helping my clients see themselves more clearly and to take ownership of how they are experiencing life. Over the next several posts, I want to clarify what I mean by these terms and give you a chance to explore how you are going through your own life.
Let’s look at Navigators and see how they engage in their lives. Navigators tend to steer the course of their lives, rather than allowing themselves to be buffeted by waves of circumstances, past experiences or emotions. They chart their course by cultivating the key qualities in life: passion, focus, resilience, confidence and vision. Rather than viewing problems as obstacles, they seize them as opportunities. In their relationships, they know how to listen well, nurture others’ talents and effectively resolve conflicts. As captains of their own ships, navigators accept responsibility for their actions. They are in control of their goals and of themselves.
Two examples of Navigators that come to mind are Nelson Mandela and Oprah Winfrey. Both Mandela and Winfrey had powerful missions; they confronted their obstacles and adversaries head-on, they set goals, created maps, and they never gave up. They were Masters of the Mind Game, the internal assault of self-limiting beliefs.
Do you think of yourself as a Navigator? Are you clear about where you are going? Are you “tefloned” against self-doubt and other self-limiting beliefs? Do you usually voice your opinions and feel comfortable asserting yourself? Do others trust you? Do you feel that life is full of opportunities waiting to be discovered?
If you want to find out if you are living your life as a Navigator, Survivor, or Victim, go to my website: navigatingforsuccess.com, and take the “How Are You Going Through Life?” questionnaire. I hope you are satisfied with your results. If not, ask yourself what you can start doing or how you can start thinking differently. Perhaps the biggest obstacle to your success and happiness lies in how you perceive and react to the life you are creating.
If you want to talk more about this notion of Life Navigation, give me a call at 610.642.4873 x23 or email me at center11@verizon.net. If you like, you can also order my book “Navigating for Success” through the website, or by emailing me.