Embracing the Mini-Journeys in the Big Journey of Life

Life is a journey. It contains many twists and turns and can be fraught with challenges, risks, and frustrations. It’s daunting to think about life as one big journey, but that’s okay because it is also made up of a multitude of mini-journeys. Like any significant endeavor, it’s helpful to break it up into manageable pieces. In focusing on the mini-journeys, you may also find nuances you otherwise might not have seen. To reverse the old saying, you might miss the trees for the forest. But changing your mindset and embracing your mini-journeys takes intentionality and open-mindedness. It’s easy to engage in business as usual and lose sight of the opportunities along your path. You have to stop, consider, and build an awareness of how you might proceed with your journey and what mini-journeys that will entail.

What is a mini-journey?

Mini-journeys are any experience or thought process that helps you to grow. It’s a bit like a physical journey. It starts with an idea—a vision for where you want to go. The vision becomes real through opportunity—an opening that you traverse. Then your mini-journey unfolds to experience and encounter. You expose yourself to new ideas, events, or emotions that help you to evolve. You end the journey a different person than when you began.

Mini-journeys don’t have to involve major life milestones. They can be as simple as an experience with a creative influence that alters your approach or a conversation that makes you think about something in a new way. I recently heard music in a movie, which stayed with me for days. I thought about how it made me feel—of my emotional journey. Ultimately, it inspired and influenced the music I was writing. It helped me create in the moment, and it helped me to grow creatively. It was a journey in every sense.

These little journeys happen constantly; the key is to become aware of and take advantage of them. Every time you meet someone new, are exposed to a new idea, or have a unique experience, it’s a journey that you can embrace and learn about yourself in the process.

The “big” mini-journeys

Some mini-journeys you face are more significant than others, and some can completely change your life. Examples include a college education, a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, or romantic relationships. Others may be intensely negative, such as the death of a loved one, a severe physical injury, or the loss of a job. These, and other similarly impactful experiences, can shift your perspective such that you will never be the same. Some of these journeys are intentional; you take them with wide open eyes. Others happen to you. But regardless of the way they came into your life, they are all opportunities to learn and grow. It may not seem like it at the time, but with curiosity and an open mind, even your “bad” journeys can result in positive change.

Embrace the journeys to places you’ve never been

Life should be more than just the same mini-journey, over and over. If you’re thinking about opportunities for growth and keep that filter in the back of your mind, you’ll invariably find them, often when or where you least expect them. It may be that some of your mini-journeys cause you some discomfort. This can be positive for a variety of reasons. In living a hectic life, it can be easy to stay on the beaten path and not see opportunities for mini journeys. Getting out of your comfort zone is a sure way to grow. You may learn new things and meet new people, but you will surely learn something new about yourself. 

Those times when you want to stay home

Not all of life has to be a journey. When you travel (both figuratively and literally), it’s essential to take the time to reflect on your journeys and what they mean to you. To assimilate your experiences and what they mean to you, it’s important to be intentional about what you learned and how you grew. How did they impact you emotionally? Did they change your perspective or your worldview? Do you interact with people differently? You must be aware of the many ways your journeys can change you and incorporate those changes into your life. 

Another reason to forgo journeys is that you need time to recharge and regroup. Few people can be “on” all the time, and to truly take advantage of life’s mini-journeys, it’s crucial to engage in intentional downtime. This has many benefits, not the least of which is the ability to fully engage when you journey. 

Life is filled with journeys, big and small. Your journeys are part of who you are, and each one helps you to evolve. Make the most of each journey you take.