I just returned from my annual training exercise with the Wisconsin National Guard. The ability to serve my country and state at this point in my life remains one of my greatest honors, as well as one of my greatest challenges. I am privileged to serve among some of the finest men and women, and I hope they learn as much from me as I do from them.

One of the activities we engaged in during our time was land navigation. This is one of my favorite basic warrior tasks because it has not changed a great deal over time, regardless of advances in technology. While so many of us automatically revert to our smartphones and the navigation programs they provide, our military training takes us back to the basics with a compass, map, and protractor. We also work as a team, with one person focused on the compass and another focused on the distance. For any of you who know me or have read any of my articles, you know by now that I am about to turn this into an exercise in life lessons, so here we go.

The first step in any navigation is knowing where you are, or as we call it, acclimation. This may be easy when holding a map, but it can get a little tricky when we are navigating life, especially in the early part of our journey. This process of personal "acclimation" is one of soul-searching to know who we have been, who we are, and who we hope to be. Once we answer these foundational questions, we can then determine our direction of travel. In land navigation, we base this direction on what is called "magnetic north." In life's journey, we need to base it on our "moral north."

Each of us has our own moral north. It is built upon our foundational beliefs, values, traditions, and virtues. Every step we take and every decision we make must first be aligned with that moral north. If not, we will undoubtedly go off course and languish in a reality that may have presented itself as the easier path but ultimately did not align with our moral north. Just as in land navigation, once you are off course, your probability of success quickly diminishes. Although you may strike out on a direction that is a certain number of degrees off magnetic north, that new direction is still based on the foundation of the original bearing. The same is true in life and in our need to maintain an adherence to—and relationship with—our own moral north, regardless of the many easy paths that tempt us along the journey.

The second component of land navigation is the need for a pacer. This person establishes a pace count per 100 meters, which allows you to determine how far you have traveled and how much farther you must go on your journey. This is important because not knowing runs the risk of either overshooting your destination or coming up short. Either way, you miss your target. In life, we would call this goal-setting. We need to set our goals at a level that is both challenging and reasonable. If we set our goals too close, no real gain is made. However, if we set our goals too far in the distance, we risk making them unattainable.

At each point on the map, we pause and set our compass for the next leg of the journey. It is at this time that we verify we are, in fact, still on course because, if we are not, every step moving forward will also be off course. In life, we must do the same. We must pause and take stock of our journey thus far, making sure that we have not compromised our moral north and that we are, in fact, still "on course" in life's journey.

There are so many temptations in life that cause us either to violate our moral north or, in some cases, to drift just a few degrees from our intended direction. In both cases, we must have the discipline to first know our moral north, then chart a path in accordance with it, and finally resist straying from it. Each is a deliberate and conscious decision.

For those of you just getting started on this amazing journey of life, I offer the following advice: Know who you are and what you stand for, and don't violate your moral north for anyone or anything. And finally, when given the choice, follow the path less traveled.