As some of you may have seen, I was traveling the Camino de Santiago in September. I was primarily interested in seeing the beach and not to be in one place and not in Germany to make vacation. Therefore, I did not care before whether I arrive in Santiago de Compostela. And honestly, I also had real respect for 280km from Porto on foot. The way was the goal and not the arrival.

What can I say, already after the first three days something has changed. After I saw that I can hike 3 days at a stretch with backpack, I have lost the fear and the ambition has grabbed me. Now I also wanted to arrive, but who needs a certificate for that! What can I say, again a few days later, I also seriously started to collect stamps, so that I get this certificate. But only after I had calculated how many kilometers I have to walk every day to arrive. The experience until then showed me that the number that came out was quite feasible.

I met different interesting characters on the way. Some had already booked the return trip from Santiago de Compostela, but still had no idea how they would get there and whether they would make it. Others had planned each day completely in advance. Everyone approaches the whole thing a little differently.

Some know their destination but not the way to get there, others know the way as well. Or there are people like me, who start walking without a plan or goal. And in the end, most of them arrive.

What I have noticed on my journey is that these people are perfect at improvising. They live into the day and in this case, just start walking. The “universe” will take care of it. But what they also have is a very precise idea of how it will be when the goal is reached. What they will do then and how they will feel and that, down to the smallest detail. That’s their drive, that’s why they achieve their goal.

But they also like to take help from the planners. They are sent by the “universe” and help them to reach their goal with one less detour. But only if they are not completely planned that way.

I have met a few of this “sort” of person, which may also be due to the fact that I have met many Germans along the way (sorry prejudice about my own country). Knowing the goal is ok, but you can only achieve that if you also know exactly how. This or something like this is how these people think. And they also reach their goal, even if it is only a vague idea.

But if something doesn’t go according to plan, they sometimes need help to stay flexible in their minds. Or they already have plan B and plan C in mind.

I only have myself as an example for this. And for me, I can say in retrospect, that subconsciously I probably already had a goal, but I didn’t dare to think it or even say it. Out of respect for the task or because I didn’t want to fail. If I had said from the beginning that I wanted to arrive and get the certificate, then it would have been quite embarrassing if it hadn’t worked, wouldn’t it? That might also be because I otherwise like to be one of the planners.

It wasn’t until I realized it was doable that I formulated my goal. Talking to “planners” and “goal focused” helped me do that.

• No matter what type of person you are, all that matters is that you take the challenge and walk. It doesn’t matter what it is, because you can only get there if you start.
• See what you can learn from the other guys instead of finding them funny.
• Don’t be afraid to set goals.
• Stay flexible in your mind.

Photocredit: Verena Küppers Photography