Setting goals is a great way to measure our progress in life. But in a lot of respects, it’s the journey that makes reaching the end goal sweet, not just the final accomplishment. We learn much more from the path than the actual achievement.

This summer has been an interesting one for my children. At the beginning of this summer my oldest daughter’s best friend fell off a cliff into a slot canyon. Her summer has not gone the way she had planned, but she has had the opportunity to learn lessons that never would have been possible otherwise. I’m sure many are not the lessons she would have chosen, but none the less it is the journey ahead and she is conquering and miraculously recovering.

One of my son’s best friends was in a motorcycle accident today and has several cracked vertebra and will possibly need surgery, they’re still ascertaining the extent of his injuries. He has now stepped onto a path and has a journey in front of him that will change his life forever. Both of these individuals had/have choices to make in how they now perceive what is going on, how they will deal with it, and what they will learn from it.

My life has not gone the way I would had planned when I was younger. I haven’t had any traumatic injuries or accidents, but things didn’t work out as I planned, or how I thought I wanted them to. But each step of the way I had choice to make, and there were many course adjustments. Some adjustments were planned and made in a very conscious and calculated manner, others were made the way they were because life happens and adjustments need to be made.

All along the way however, there has been joy. Even through hard times, there are slivers of hope, wonderful people, learning opportunities, so much to be gained from the journey. Because of that journey I am who I am today, and I like that person. But I know I’m not done growing. I am excited to continue to make plans, set goals and achieve them, but I am also aware that not everything works out as planned, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.