Anywhere But Here!

“Where would you like to go?” Asked the cab driver. “Anywhere but here,” responded Andy as he hastily jumped into the cab as if escaping a crime scene. He just had another heated argument with his parents and he felt he couldn’t stand them anymore. Why couldn’t they just accept him as he was? As the cab moved through town, Andy stared absentmindedly through the window. He felt his belly tightened up into a knot. His mind played scenes from his several “encounters” with his parents- when he came home with a girl, when he crashed the car, when he wanted to drop out of school, when he went clubbing till midnight, when… oh his head was beginning to hurt! He was already 16; why couldn’t he be free to live as he pleased?

“We’re here” said the cab driver. Andy was jolted from his troubled thoughts. “Where is here?” he asked, looking around confused. “Where you wanted to go” said the driver. Andy was scared. If he hadn’t been so drowned in his misery, he would have notice that the cab had turned into one of the most dangerous alleys in town. Was his heart suddenly in his ears or was it just beating louder? With a shaky voice, Andy said, “I never told you where I wanted to go”. “Exactly my point,” said the driver, “People like you end up in a place like this.” “But I don’t want to be here” Andy blurted out. “When you set out without a direction, you pretty much don’t have a choice of a destination. Now where is my money?” Andy’s face suddenly became pale as he realised that in his desperation to escape his parents, he hadn’t picked his wallet.

We usually look forward to a new beginning because it gives us a fresh opportunity to improve on our past records. Whether 2019 was excellent, fair, or poor, I believe we all share the same sentiment of a need to move on. But the big question is “to where?” Movement without a destination in mind is a waste. Let’s learn a few lessons from Andy:

1. Passion is not enough: like Andy, you may be absolutely sure you don’t belong where you are; you’re tired of your job, relationships, financial status, etc. Passion is necessary for success but you can be passionately wrong if you don’t know your destination.
2. Assumption is dangerous: “anywhere is better than here” is true only if where you are is the worst place ever- ask Andy about the dangerous alley. You may have a great reason to “relocate” in 2020 but don’t leave your destination options open.
3. Don’t abandon your life to others’ discretion: when you set out without a destination in mind, you are at the mercy of the people around you.
4. Wandering is costlier: If you know where you are going, you will intelligently deploy your resources to get there; or, your resources will help get you where you don’t like.