If you’ve ever hiked in a new or unfamiliar location, there are two commonly used tools to help provide guidance on your journey: the compass and the GPS.

A compass uses Earth's magnetic fields to point you toward fixed directions. Paired with a map, it lets you orient yourself and choose your route.
A GPS relies on satellite networks to calculate your exact location, then hands you turn-by-turn directions to a destination someone else has already mapped.

If you're wondering whether I'm writing an essay on navigation devices, the answer is no. And if you're picking up on a similar theme to another essay, you're right. I wrote about this earlier this year in a piece called Recipes vs. Ingredients. This essay is the navigation version of that same principle. Different metaphor, same argument: don't outsource your life to someone else's directions.

The one destination none of us can avoid is death (memento mori). What we can choose is how we navigate the years between now and then. My goal in this essay is to help you think more intentionally about the navigation method you've been choosing.

Most of us default to GPS thinking without realizing it. We want turn-by-turn instructions. We want someone to tell us exactly what to eat, how to work out, when to wake up, how to budget, and what habits will finally unlock the life we're after. And there is no shortage of people or companies willing to give you their (or someone else's) turn-by-turn directions, packaged as a route with a color coded path and a destination.

Compass thinking, on the other hand, requires you to pay attention to your life, do bearing checks along the way, make intentional choices about what path to take, and be aware of the changes you need to make on your journey as you hit obstacles and new roads.

Both types of thinking have their place, but most of us haven't examined which one we've been defaulting to. So let's take a closer look at each.

GPS Thinking

A GPS route only works when the route is already mapped. Someone else hiked it (or drove it) first, and now the technology can guide you along the same path. That works fine for driving to an unfamiliar coffee shop or hiking on a popular trail, but it doesn't work for a human life.

That’s because your life isn't a mapped route. Your life has variables unique to you. Your family, your health, your history, your resources, your specific season, your specific gifts and limitations. You have a mix of innate wiring and learned experiences that no one else shares in the same combination.

Similarities, yes. But your life isn’t someone else’s.

GPS thinking, and following a route built by someone else, usually results in one of two things:

The path works for a while, then breaks down when your specific life doesn't cooperate with the plan. Or the path never quite works from the beginning, and you spend months blaming yourself for not being able to make it work.

This isn't hypothetical, and it’s a real frustration with a lot of the motivational, self-improvement, and self-help content that’s out there. You listen to the instructions. You follow the routine. You try the diet or the exercise plan. You install the app. And when it doesn’t produce the promised outcome, you assume something is wrong with you. Oftentimes, the only thing that is wrong is that you were just following a GPS built for someone else's route.

I’m not saying that GPS thinking is entirely wrong. There is a lot of very helpful content out there that can get you on a path to improvement in one (or more) of the 7 pillars I talk about. What I am asking you to think about is whether or not you are becoming overly dependent on GPS thinking to navigate your life.

Because the more you outsource your navigation to someone else's route, the less capable you are to find your own way when the road needs to change.

Compass Thinking

A compass doesn't tell you where to go. It tells you where you are and which direction you're facing. From there, the choices are yours.

That sounds less useful than a GPS at first, but it teaches you something the GPS never will: orientation.

Orientation is the ability to know, at any given moment, whether you're moving toward your intended direction or away from it. Not because someone told you which way was north, but because you learned to read the compass yourself.

Compass thinking requires more from you. But it also doesn't stop working when the route changes. It works anywhere, in any season, with any variables, as long as you're willing to pay attention, do bearing checks, and adjust as needed.

The practices I've been writing about across BFAP are rooted in compass thinking:

Paying attention.
Asking why.
Noticing patterns.
Taking ownership of the inputs.
Using tools when you need help.

These practices aren't turn-by-turn directions following someone else’s route. They're the tools you use to navigate the life you're actually living that’s unique to you, and that's the whole point. I'm not trying to give you my GPS. I'm trying to help you learn to use your compass.

Why We Reach For the GPS and Not the Compass

Here's the uncomfortable part.

We adopt GPS thinking not because it works better, but because it requires less work than compass thinking. Following someone else's route means someone else has already done the hard thinking, and all you have to do is follow the instructions and comply. It feels safe, it feels efficient, and it lets you believe that if you just follow the plan or system, your journey will be smooth.

But that mindset is a setup for disappointment and frustration. Because while pre-programmed GPS routes and systems can be good and helpful at times, you can find yourself “lost” even though you’re following the prescribed path:

The routine you adopted from an influencer that resulted in a loss of motivation because of a lack of progress.
The financial framework you copied from a book thinking that it would fix your financial problems in 6 months, without realizing that financial discipline is consistently built and improved over time.
The parenting approach you inherited from your own upbringing (or from the broader culture) without ever asking whether it's right for your child (or children).
The definition of success you absorbed from your culture that doesn't actually match what you value.

Compass thinking, unlike pre-programmed GPS routes, requires you to take the responsibility for navigation. You have to not only think about your bearing and plan your route, you have to check it regularly to see if you’re still headed in the right direction. And you can only do this by paying attention to the 7 pillars of your life.

Compass thinking is more challenging than GPS thinking. But when you make it a regular practice to pay attention, ask why, notice patterns, and take ownership of your own inputs, the difference between the two ways of living becomes anything but subtle.

The Navigation Choice

So here's the question I’m asking you to consider sitting with this week.

Where in your life have you been following someone else's GPS instead of learning to read your own compass?

You know the answer. You've probably known it for a while.

I’m not asking you to abandon every source of guidance you've ever used, or stop looking for helpful tools for you to live a life with greater intention. Good teachers matter, and good frameworks help.

My invitation to you is to stop mistaking someone else's turn-by-turn directions for a plan for your life.

Learn to read the compass. Own the direction. And do regular bearing checks to make sure you’re still on the right path.

The Compass or the GPS

The Mid-Year Bearing Check