Following Your North Star

Do What Makes YOU Happy!

(my grandson, at one year old, looking toward the North Star)

Before navigational devices, sailors would find their way home by looking at the North Star (Polaris) in the sky showing the direction North. During the Civil War, slaves escaping the South followed the North Star, also called the Polestar, leading to freedom in the Northern United States or Canada. After providing guidance and direction since ancient times, in modern life, the term often refers to our internal compass.

We don’t always find our true direction when we are younger. Often, responsibilities restrict us from pursuing our dreams or we follow the dictates of our parents. We enter the family business or follow their career prescription. When we’re middle-aged or beyond, it is now or never.

Following your North Star is not limited to professional ambition. Sometimes the North Star is a personal quest or dream. The trip you always wanted to take and no one else wanted to go. So, you never went. Two of my travel club friends both dreamed of seeing the Northern Lights in Iceland. What started as a casual conversation between two new acquaintances became a reality in April 2023. They spent over a week in the ‘the land of fire and ice’ having a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Our club members followed their incredible adventures through their photo montage.

Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

My colleague always wanted a Jaguar. Eventually, she stopped listening to the noise. “They are too expensive.”  “Jaguars are not reliable.” She purchased her dream car, a Mistral Blue Metallic XJ8 with a white interior, and enjoyed it for years. It was the same year, she made other dreams come true, including relocating from Indianapolis and buying her first home as a single woman. She’s continued to follow her faith and North Star since starting her own business.

There is something about taking an initial step toward our ambition, personal quest, or dream. Saying it aloud builds confidence to step even further towards our North Star. What if the travel club member let others dampen her dream of going to Iceland? She would have never mentioned it aloud. She would have never known someone else interested in Iceland was sitting two chairs away.

Some have followed a prescribed path for so long, they haven’t thought about what lights them up. Dragging through days at work, slogging through chores all weekend, and repeat. There are coaches and therapists for those who work. Retirees, living their lives in black and white instead of vibrant color; have healthcare professionals who will guide them to someone (usually) covered by your Medicare plan to discuss how to reclaim your zest for life.

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It is the life in your years.” —Abraham Lincoln