"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition." - Steve Jobs
In life, it is always easy to take the road everyone else has taken, especially if it seems to work for them. People will always be telling you that what you want is not what you should do and what your inner voice says is not what should be applied to your life. Stability and safety is always the way to go.
You may be wondering at this point what it means by taking the 'path less-travelled'. Let's take something as simple as learning music. A typical path will be learning music when you are young. To take the less travelled path, it is doing the exact opposite - learning music when you are an adult! You know that it is possible, don't let any misconceptions of starting a musical journey deter you.
Life is an adventure book waiting to be written and you are the author. Don't let others dictate what you are going to put inside the book. Instead, fill it up with your own colourful stories - stories that belongs to you. By doing so, you will never have to wonder about any what ifs as you have already been through all the situations you wanted to be in.
1. It helps you to achieve what you really want
It's only by trying new things and exploring the unknowns can you determine what's working better for you. You are never too old to set a new goal or have a new dream so there is no need to adhere to the typical paths. And, only by taking your own path, will it help to achieve what you really want.
2. It allows you to grow
When you embark on your own route, you will have time to find your own passion. On a route that is used less frequently, it is bound to be more wild, with more obstacles. See these obstacles as puzzles to solve and think that solving them will bring you ample opportunities to grow.
3. It brings you happiness
It is always tiring to stick to the rules. After all, rules are meant to be broken, aren't they? By doing what you want and doing things you want, then will you feel amazing and crave for greater growth. This is when you will have greater motivation to achieve things that you have previously only dreamed of achieving. The secret to happiness, after all, comes from making progress on the things you want to do.
1. Be true to yourself
The main idea of taking the path less-travelled is to stop following others and to craft your own path. Take some time to find out the starting point of this path, and how to go about to this point. Think about what you want to do, not what others are doing. This is not about achieving the most in the shortest time or a competition to see who can go the furthest on the road. Do what you think is right, instead of what the majority thinks is right.
2. Do not resist change
Everything changes so fast and anyone who is resistant to changes will get left behind (much less you, when you are taking the less travelled road). Acceptance of change simply means the willingness to adapt and it is the first step to getting out of your comfort zone. It may even reveal new opportunities in your life, establishing limits you never knew you could accomplish.
3. Know that it is never wrong to make a u-turn in life
As mentioned previously, everything changes constantly. We change and evolve. Why can't our choices and decisions change too? Turn back if there are better opportunities you want to embark on back there. There's definitely more than one path you can take to reach your destination.
Your book of life will only be exciting if there are ups and downs.
Question the world around you and realise the great possibilities life has to offer. Learn some music!