Running in the wrong direction is worse than not running at all.

But that is what most of us do every day.

We work on mindless jobs without thinking if it is getting us what we really want. I am mindful that all of us need money to live and not everyone may have an inheritance that allows them the luxury of exploring options that don’t bring money for a while.

How about being in one job, when another better one with better pay, bigger opportunity to learn and a chance to drive bigger change is available for anyone with the same talent and experience? Countless people are in such a situation. But they choose to stay where they are because of inertia or for fear of discomfort that comes from leaving a cushy job. 

But the bigger underlying reason for such behavior is the lack of thinking – what is right and what is wrong for you. For example, anything who spends thinking about their career will see the opportunities available for them. And they will know that discomfort that arises from changing jobs is temporary and is of the kind which helps a person grow. They will be thinking about the cost of being in a lazy mode and compare it to the upside of taking action.

Or for someone in business, it means not finding time to remind yourself that it takes the same time to build a $100,000/year startup as it takes to create a $10 million/year one.

Not allowing ourselves to think about the choices we are making and action we should take to make the most of our time, is keeping us away from growth. This thinking may very well start with what to work on.

We ought to ask ourselves two questions and continue to change things until the answer is YES to both.

• Is your current work aligned with your goals and values?
• Are you making the biggest bets and risk you can, given your circumstances?