The Fine Line Between Wandering and Being Lost

Everything is measured today. Our constant GPS-tethered lives tell us exactly where everything is, from ourselves to our people to our phones to anything else that can fit a tag on it. As we have succumbed to always being digitally triangulated, we have lost the skill to simply wander.

Last year in the mountains, I saw a bumper sticker that read "Get Lost." It struck me how negative that has become in our culture today. But after a couple days in the woods, I came to appreciate the mentality. Allowing yourself to be lost is what creates the space to be found. Not by someone. By yourself.

Being lost or wandering requires the same effort. Being lost implies something is wrong. Wandering gives space for something to go right. It is a small shift in intention, but that small shift moves your mind from fear to discovery.

The Problem with Always Knowing Where You Are Going

Wandering all day every day is going to cause problems. I am not suggesting you blow up your commitments or trade away your calendar. Following the golden ratio of personal innovation allows for the benefits of consistency while preserving the freedom of exploration.

Think about it roughly like this: invest 70% of your awake hours getting the job done. The things that keep the lights on, the body fed, your people moving, the responsibilities checked off. Spend 20% of your day on adventure. Exploration with purpose. That space allows for organic extensions of your core life to grow in ways you could not have scheduled. Then reserve 10% to wander. No destination. No expectation. Full stop.

As this formula holds true, your discipline to maintain your commitments in the 70 will be your keel. But your wander will be your greatest return on investment over the long term.

Wandering holds space for opportunity, creativity, and growth.

I think about how much of what has mattered most in my life was never on a roadmap. FluidStance was not a spreadsheet exercise. The [GoPro] Mountain Games was not a long-term strategic plan. The relationships I lean on hardest were not networked. They wandered in. None of it showed up because I planned for it. It showed up because I left room for it.

We resist this. We have built a culture obsessed with optimization and terrified of inefficiency. We celebrate the person with the tightest calendar and feel guilty when we cannot account for an hour. But the best ideas I have ever had did not come from the calendar. They showed up on a new trail. On a backroad. In a stretch of plain boredom. And it is the least optimized, most productive thing I know how to do.

I was not lost, I was wandering.

Joel Heath is founder and “chairman of the board” of FluidStance® and founder of the [GoPro] Mountain Games®. Prior to FluidStance, Heath was President of Teva Footwear and Founding Member of the non-profit First Descents – a free adventure experience for survivors of life threatening illnesses.