Validation Arrows: Pointing Toward Our Path in Life

Many times in my life, I have found that certain events seem to have overlapping purpose. Sometimes it is from something I have read recently or from conversations with others. These ideas mirror things that I have said, written, or that I have recently thought. These signs, these validation arrows, are meant to reaffirm our thoughts, feelings, and decisions.

The Hive Mind of Writing

Many times I have written something that either mirrored or complemented something else that I later read. These thoughts have confirmed in my heart that I am on the path that I need to follow. I have experienced this with a couple of my recent blog posts.

A couple of days after publishing my post about fate and free will, a related blog post by Kelly Smith appeared in my Twitter feed. She wrote that no matter how much we blame God for our misfortunes, it is our own choices that determine our fate.

I have also been on the other side of this type of validation. A few weeks after publishing my post about compartmentalizing, I discovered a blog by a writer named Leigh Holland. She read my blog, and this post fit with a post that she was working on, Archetypes of the Hero’s Journey #6: The Shapeshifter. I found out when I saw that she had linked back to my blog as a reference.

Confirming Conversations

I’ve also had instances of conversations that seemed to dovetail with other conversations or things that I had written or read. In these instances, there is no way that the person I was conversing with had any knowledge of the prior interaction.

My most recent instance of this was shortly after I wrote my blog post about accepting change, about two weeks before publishing it. While visiting my parents, a conversation with my step dad led to him telling me not to fear change.

Where Do Your Validation Arrows Point?

We’ve all experienced these kinds of situations in our lives. When you’ve faced validation arrows, have you followed them or went the other way?

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