30 Life Lessons for Inspiration and Creativity: Day 10

Lesson 10: If you aim at nothing you will hit it every single time.

There was something freeing in walking the streets aimlessly, taking in the city views with its distinct smells and sounds, and maybe eventually ending up somewhere adventurous. Some of my favorite times in Jerusalem were days just like that, where no one really cared about destination. As long as we wondered inside the perimeters of the Turkish walls with its endless bazaars, minute teashops with floor seating lined with colorful cushions, and as long as we exited one of the gates before we needed to catch our bus, no one minded. And that one time I may or may not have wondered into a restricted area with my friends, well let’s just say it was part of being adventurous.

While that’s all good while exploring an ancient city, I’ve learned that it doesn’t work so well with the rest of life. In fact, if there’s one thing that I keep learning over and over is that you need a destination, a target of sorts first, and then a roadmap. One of my favorite quotes is this, “If you aim at nothing you will hit it every single time.” Even now when writing this, I get goose bumps, because I’m scared that I’ll end up nowhere because I didn’t have a plan. I first heard it at a financial seminar, and while it’s very applicable with saving goals and money management, it’s even more so applicable when it comes to achieving anything in life. A clear destination makes it easy to look up a map of how to get there, and while you might be a person who likes to walk to it, or take the side streets to it, you’ll eventually get there.

And because posts are always better with a photo, here is a corner of Jerusalem that is very dear to me. Below the lantern on the right is a door that led to my rooftop reading spot with some amazing views on the city. 😉