It’s one thing to set a There for your life, define your Here, and chart your Path forward. It’s another thing to implement these things into your life. But it’s not enough to just have where you are going on paper. You must move forward with purpose in order to get where you want to go.
There are a few ways you can implement the There-Here-Path in your life, and they will each have different outcomes.
Problem-Solving
The first way that many people try to implement the There-Here-Path is through problem solving. The issue with this method is that it actually functions as more of a here-there-path rather than a There-Here-Path. That means that you focus on the Here first, looking to whatever problems need to be solved and fires need to be put out in the moment.
There is a place for this method: if there is a metaphorical (or literal!) fire, it needs to be put out! But, once the emergency is over, it’s easy to get sucked back into the loop of putting your energy towards whatever feels the most urgent in the moment, instead of considering what tasks will best help you achieve your goals.
That’s what we want to avoid here: getting to a place where we feel like everything is urgent, and so we don’t have the bandwidth to deal with actual emergencies when they arise.
Goal-Setting
So we say, “okay, I don’t just want to keep running the cycle of urgency, I’m going to make some goals and achieve them.” That puts the There, Here, and Path in the right order: thinking about where you want to go first and then putting the steps in place to get there. But, it doesn’t get to the fullness of what the There-Here-Path can achieve, so we’ll refer to this method as the there-here-path, using lowercase letters.
The reason this strategy still falls short of the There-Here-Path is because it is focused on shorter-term goals. This will still be part of the There-Here-Path, but they are smaller theres, not the Transcendent There. Once you’ve achieved all the goals you’ve set, where do you go from there? We want to keep our eye on the Transcendent There.
Creative Process
Problem-solving and goal-setting have their time and place, but the best way to implement the There-Here-Path is through what we call the creative process. It involves having clarity of and commitment to your There, understanding the truth and reality of your Here, and being able to act, learn, and adjust as you travel the Path.
In this method, you will still need to set goals and solve problems as they arise on your journey to get There, but your focus is on your Transcendent There: the never-achievable mission that serves as your guiding light. By casting a vision for your life, you are able to set goals that help lead you in the direction you want to be heading in.
We call this strategy the “creative process” because it requires creative thinking as you figure out how to follow your There amidst the different situations of your life. Your goals and problems will look different depending on your different circumstances, but your Transcendent There remains constant. Focusing on that beacon will help keep you going where you want to go.
Gracie McBride is the Content and Systems Development Coordinator at The Crossroad.
