Whatever your station in life, wherever you are, you can be sure, “tests” will abound.

Perhaps it is a test in a more literal sense; the final exam you once took in algebra, the physical you have been putting off for years, an ACT that could help you get into college.

Maybe it is a test that is more of a personal challenge, something you have always been meaning to accomplish; like getting back into shape, eating better, reading more, or being less distracted at home.

There could be new demands you face in a professional sense; the need to develop some new habits, learning to work smarter, improving your level of performance or responding to an ultimatum.

Regardless of the situation, you can be assured that you will need to take these “tests”.

In reality, they are and always will be an opportunity for growth and improvement. Taking these “tests” will ultimately  help you to become the best version of yourself; the person you were always meant to be. While they may appear at random,  their occurrence should never be misconstrued as an “if” proposition. You can always count on all  “tests” to be a “when event.”

Assuming that these “tests” are something that is sure to happen, what would you make of a seemingly recurring test? A repetitious series of challenges, somewhat similar in content and scope,  that keeps happening over and over and over?

Perhaps it is some ” test” that appears to shadow  certain aspects of your life.

Could it be that there is something bigger going on?

Is a deeper – or even different – message being transmitted to you?

Are you somehow missing the essence of the lesson? What could it mean if you seem to find yourself in the same predicament more than a couple of times? More to the point, is there something you are doing that is actually putting  yourself into those same set of circumstances?

Perhaps on the initial go around, there was something lacking in your judgement – or – your initial response was inadequate. Maybe you simply erred in assessing both the challenge and what the actual message was that was being sent.

Did you ask all of the right questions – of others – and of yourself?

Is there room for some deeper reflection and a more honest self assessment?

Without total transparency from without as well as from within, you can never be really sure of what you are actually being shown.  Sure, you can adjust the ambient light, change the background a little, put on the shades or  simply squint. While these maneuvers may temporarily change one’s perception of reality, the image looking back at you from the mirror is what it is.  Leopards don’t change their spots – and you are who you are.

Taking some more personal time to assess and pursue some additional reflection, make some personal adjustments and commit yourself to following a “plan” might forestall the outcome. But if you fail to be true, the pattern will begin again and that same “test” will return.

So, should you simply chalk it up to life and gird yourself for the next time? Or, could this be representative of the fact that you keep choosing to miss out on the real opportunity? Sometimes, you can look right at something and still not see it; as plain as the nose on your face.  Vision means more than just seeing.

If you can accept the idea that we are all meant to be a truly extraordinary version of ourselves, perhaps it isn’t too much of a stretch to consider that our ultimate purpose will need to somehow mesh with that as well.

You can spend a lifetime traveling and never get to where you are meant to go.

Keep missing that exit sign, and you simply keep moving down the same road.

To that I can attest.