Is It Normal To Question The Path That You’ve Chosen to Take?
It is not just normal to question the path, but necessary.
At the start of the pandemic in 2020, I had an opportunity present itself to me.
I was in the position to pursue the path I most desired to take.
That was writing full-time. This excited me. So, I redoubled my efforts. That led to me publishing 3 books in 2020.
An idea sparked a new direction for my writing. Rather than writing by the seat of my pants (i.e., writing as a Pantser), I did a bunch of worldbuilding. I also created an outline, even going so far as to break down the chapters in each book (i.e., writing as a Planner). That which I had long feared would interfere with my creativity increased it.
Thus, by the end of 2021, I had written and published 6 more books.
I continued to plot, plan, and write more books. I completed one series by planning the final book, plotted out 4 more books for an existing series, and 6 books for a new series. Then I proceeded to start writing them.
Despite having a total of a dozen sci-fi, fantasy, and Steampunk novels self-published – sales have been less than I’d desired. A lot less. As in, I realized that I’ve spent more on editing and book covers than sales have covered. So much more, that I was unable to send any of the books I’ve finished to an editor or cover artist and published nothing new in 2022.
This harsh reality has caused me to question the path I’m on. A path I’ve believed was the one I should be on for a long time.
Hence why I ask – is it normal to question the path you’ve chosen to take?
What’s normal?
Normal, like beauty and perfection, is in the eye of the beholder.
Seriously, what is normal? Is it going to an office every day, sitting in a cubicle, being present from 8:30 to 5, then repeating that 5 days a week? Is it a home life with a spouse, 2 kids, and a dog? Might normal be spending weekends doing chores, watching sports, and paying bills?
The answer is both yes and no.
Eight billion people are living on this planet. Normal for Americans is not the same as normal for the people of Europe or Asia. What’s normal for a coastal service-industry office worker isn’t normal for the midwestern automobile assembly line worker. Normal is as subjective and different as all of us human beings are.
Not everyone actively chooses a path in life. And sometimes, the choice is passive, and other times subconscious. Still other times, no choice is made, and you go with whatever comes your way.
Thus, normal is indefinable. Because normal for me won’t be normal for you.
One of the best ways to learn anything at all is to ask questions. This is true of paths available to you. Or not. But if you don’t ask questions, you don’t learn anything. So how can you know if your path is still working for you – or not – if you don’t question it?
Question the path
Nobody has just one singular path in life.
Or maybe, more specifically, there’s no one way to travel in life. Perhaps you have a “destiny” or similar thing you believe you’re here to do. But how you do it isn’t set in stone.
Nothing in life is set in stone. That’s why, even if you are thoroughly certain of the path you’re on, it’s still wise to question the path.
Why? Because maybe it’s not as satisfying as you thought it would be. Maybe it’s not who you are supposed to be or what you should be doing. Are you in the here and now, fully aware of “what is”? Or are you trapped looking forward to the always-in-motion future, or backward to who you were in the past?
Whatever the case might be, it’s normal to question the path. That’s because the path shifts, moves, evolves, and changes.
You might think you’re on the path – but somehow the path shifted out from under your feet. That happens. You have pretty much zero control over the one and only constant in the Universe.
That’s change. And you and I have NO control over it at all. But it always happens – whether glacially slow or disturbingly swift.
Change happens. Thus, you need to question the path for surety.
What if it’s not the right path?
Let’s face it. Yesterday’s right path is tomorrow’s wrong path.
For example, you could be in a relationship that’s on the path to marriage and children. But then, maybe you get dumped, or your significant other passes away – and with that, the path dissipates.
You can’t do jack shit about this. It can and will happen. And, yes, it sucks when it does.
Choosing a path means you have opted to be mindful of who, what, where, how, and why you are. That mindfulness lets you choose what you desire to do with your life experience actively.
But because of the nature of change and its constancy, it’s healthy to question the path. Any path. Because you might find that adjustments are necessary.
I’m working to find new and better ways to promote my books to sell more. Meanwhile, I’m also seeking alternate income sources so that I can pay my bills AND get some edits and book covers done.
This means that my path is shifting. But when I question the path, I find that I still believe in the path. But I also see that I need to be more flexible and make some adjustments to address matters in the present that can’t be ignored.
Is it possible that this is not the right path for me? Anything is possible. But my love of writing doesn’t abate. Whether it’s fiction or these blog essays – writing brings me joy.
It normal to question the path
In as much as there is ever a normal, it’s normal to question the path you’re on.
Even if you find it’s still working just fine and there’s no need to change anything – asking the question hurts nothing. What’s more, it keeps you better able to handle change when it occurs, make new choices and decisions, and be more capable of rolling with the punches when the unexpected happens.
An unquestioned path is a dangerous one. Why? Because that’s what leads to zealotry, closed-mindedness, and believing in demagogues who tell you what you want to hear but don’t care in the least about you. The unquestioned path will cease to be one you would choose without you even realizing it. And then you’ve ceded what you have every right to control in life.
Questions and being awake or “woke” to life lead to more freedom, not less. They open more doors, not fewer. And they help you decide who, what, where, how, why, and all that you desire to be.
That’s why it’s not just normal to question the path, but necessary.
Have you questioned the paths you’ve chosen while traversing them?
This is the five-hundred and seventy-sixth exploration of my Pathwalking philosophy. These weekly essays are my ideas for – and experiences with – using mindfulness and positivity to walk along a chosen path of life to consciously create reality.
I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world and empower as many people as I can with conscious reality creation.
Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-post and share this.
The first year of Pathwalking, including expanded ideas, is available here. Check out Amazon for my published fiction and nonfiction works.
Please take a moment to subscribe to my mailing list. Fill in the info then click the sign-up button to the right and receive your free eBook. Thank you!
Follow me here!
