Lost in the Woods: Lost in Life
Why a Guide Makes All the Difference
Running in Guangzhou was a doddle. I’d just pound the pavements along major roads or do laps within my compound. No brainer, really. It meant I could properly zone out – get lost in an audiobook, find my rhythm with some tunes, or catch up on a cracking podcast. Bliss.
Recently though, my wife and I upped sticks to a little village just outside Budapest. It’s nestled in the hills, completely surrounded by forest. A bit of a change from city living, as you can imagine.
A couple of days back, I was out for a jog and realised, halfway through, I’d seriously misjudged how far I could go in 34 degrees heat, even with the lovely green canopy overhead. The path I was on was a good, clear one, and I could have just turned tail and headed straight back. But I was knackered, parched, and really didn’t fancy that slog. I checked Google Maps – you know, the trusty guide – and saw a supposed shortcut right through the trees. Feeling somewhat pleased with myself, I spotted a narrower track and thought, ‘Aha! This’ll get me home in a flash.’ But as I pushed on, that path got narrower and narrower. Trees had properly keeled over, blocking the way, and soon enough, the bushes, plants, grass, and tree roots were closing in, turning the trail into a proper fight. I was literally having to wrestle my way through, veering off the supposed path and just treading my own.
It was a nightmare, frankly. Every push through branches, every snap of a twig, every grapple with some stubborn plant just earned me more cuts on my legs, not to mention a generous coating of buds and bits of undergrowth stuck to my kit. Disorientation crept in, and I started to feel more than a bit uncertain this ‘shortcut’ was, in fact, the right idea at all. A quick glance at Google Maps confirmed my fears: it wasn’t showing any distinct paths anymore, and worse, it was stubbornly insisting I was heading completely the wrong way.
It was then that the penny dropped. This whole sweaty, scratched-up predicament was a just like those times in life when we feel we’ve gone right off track. Usually, we don’t give a second thought to our routines, or even the general direction our lives are headed. Everything feels comfortable, normal. But then, bang, something knocks us sideways. A job loss, a house move, a relationship hits the rocks. Suddenly, we’re in completely unfamiliar territory. So, what’s the game plan? We might clam up, unable or unwilling to tell friends. We could even turn to those ubiquitous AI chatbots, which, bless ’em, can be genuinely helpful… up to a point. That crucial point, of course, being that while they’re sounding more human by the day, they don’t actually understand us. They’re just clever models, mimicking human chat patterns, making educated guesses about the next word without a shred of relatable experience.
The Human Compass
Right there in the middle of that blasted forest, one thought hammered home: ‘What I need here is someone who gets it! Someone who knows what it’s genuinely like to be in this muddle.’ And I realised I wanted one of two things: either just a companion to walk alongside me through the chaos, offering reassurance and sharing the experience, or someone who could actually coach me through it. Thankfully, I did eventually stumble out of the mess I’d got myself into, but it took way longer than it could have done. If I’d had a proper guide, I’d have sorted it out in half the time.
It’s exactly the same with our lives, isn’t it? We often just muddle through alone, sometimes piling one mistake on top of another, utterly unable to take a step back and see what other options might be staring us in the face. We forget our core values, the very things we hold dear. We dig ourselves into holes and feel utterly isolated. Reaching out for a coach can be one of the best moves you ever make. A decent coach will be that companion, encouraging you to slow down, helping you unearth options you never even knew existed, and then guiding you to properly weigh them up and plan your next steps.
It takes genuine strength of character, mind you, to admit you’ve gone off course and to actually reach out for a hand. Whether it’s a massive life transition, or just figuring out a solid plan for a big decision at work or home, you truly never have to face these tricky times alone. Picking the right person to talk things through could genuinely be the difference between a rash, ill-thought-out decision and a carefully crafted plan of action.
