Seneca explains: Navigating through life the right way

If you don't know where you want to go in life, you will have difficulty navigating life. If we don't define a destination we are heading towards, we don't know what decisions we need to make to get there. If we don't make a decision about how to navigate, we may just go in circles.

This is exactly what the Stoic philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca had already made clear in the first century AD with the following words:

“There is no favorable wind for the sailor who doesn’t know where to go.”

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

It is important to have a vision of the future that is worth heading for. The best way to do this is to take a close look at our current situation and conclude where we want to go.

For example, you may notice that you have let yourself go a bit lately. This would be the starting situation. Based on this initial situation, we can define a goal. We could say that we just want to get a few kilos off our hips, or that we want to have more muscle mass. Or that we want to get to a level where we can jog ten kilometers. Whatever it is, depending on what goal we define and what our starting point is, we can come up with a plan to steer us from our start to our goal.

Only if we know where we want to steer, we can steer the course towards this goal and use the winds in such a way that we get there as quickly and effectively as possible. Of course, even without a goal, it is sometimes possible to benefit from a favorable wind that moves us forward in life, however, simply moving forward without a fixed goal is often only a very short-lived pleasure.

When I heard the quote for the first time, it seemed rather pessimistic to me. Probably because I myself am someone who goes through life rather haphazardly and pursues very few goals. However, this quote can be very motivating if you formulate one or the other goal. Finally, the sailor who knows the right shore, which winds he should use and which he should avoid.

In any case, I wish you that you know to which shore you want to go and that the wind is favorable for you. If you don't have a goal yet, stop, look at your situation and reflect. I am sure that a desirable goal will come into sight.

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