For me, a Sign comes from repeated obstacles thrown into the path of an objective. These obstacles are often the result of odd coincidences. Then when I decide to change my course, I usually feel a strong sense of peace and relief.
With a challenge, the obstacles tend to be predictable if difficult. If I change course, I feel a little twinge of guilt or remorse.
Sign: This weekend I was going to carpool to an event with some friends. The woman I was going to ride with emailed me 3 times asking for my address and directions. I responded each time. Apparently she didn't get my messages, because she followed up with 2 phone calls. I faithfully called her back twice, the last time being 2 hours before we were supposed to meet. With that, I decided it Wasn't Meant To Be for whatever reason. I wound up getting together with another friend and having a wonderful evening.
Challenge: Training my dog to do a very difficult task. The obstacles involved financing the training, time and energy on the part of my dog and I, his intelligence and willingness. We worked on this for nearly two years. I found the money, time, and energy. Ultimately, the dog let me know that he wasn't willing, and that was that. I didn't feel any guilt because we both gave it our best, but I was very disappointed after all the effort we invested. Still, he's a much happier dog now that he doesn't have to do that anymore. And after all that training he's the envy of the neighborhood. All's well that ends well.
Hope that helps.
Peace, Milkbones, and Saturday nights,
Flea
