Have you ever tried to go around a city with an outdated map or navigator?
It can be highly stressful.
The layout of cities changes over time for a series of reasons, and if you are not local and have an obsolete map, you may quickly get lost or stuck. You may run in circles, take a street the wrong way, or end up in a dead end. It may be dangerous.
Nowadays, with smartphones and modern navigation apps that update automatically, it's almost impossible. But a few years ago, it used to happen quite often.
When that happens, it's easy to get upset with whoever has changed the city's layout, with the map, with other people on the road, with the people riding with you who are not helpful enough, with fate going against you or with yourself for not updating the map.
However, none of this will help you.
You just need to update your map or let it go altogether and maybe ask someone around for directions.
Reading the news lately, I feel that many people are trying to find their way in life using outdated maps in a world that is changing constantly and rapidly.
I'm thinking in particular of men.
The high number of feminicides, the fact that 85% of those who commit suicide or 95% of those in prison are men. I feel many of these men are trying to navigate their lives using outdated maps. And when they get lost or stuck, they unleash their anger on others or themselves instead of updating their maps. Many can’t even realize they are using an outdated map, so they convince themselves that reality must be wrong with terrible consequences.
The maps I'm talking about are the Sense-Making Maps, the inner ones we all use to read and navigate reality. And they can be updated.
If you feel lost or stuck, if reality does not align with your map, it may be time to update your inner maps. And if you don’t know how to do it, please ask for help.