Wrong Turns Can Yield Important Life Lessons

The first few times I ever drove through downtown Atlanta, Georgia, I thought I would lose my mind. I had just begun a new job in the area and had rehearsed the route to work in my mind several times. As soon as I was in the middle of rush hour traffic, however, my nerves took over. Each time, I either missed my turn, or turned down the wrong street.

If you've ever driven in downtown Atlanta, you know that it is a maze of one-way streets, to the extent where circling around the block is impossible in many areas. For that reason, I often found myself becoming extremely stressed as I attempted to navigate the unfamiliar terrain, only to get farther and farther away from my intended destination. By the time I did finally make it to work, I was completely flustered, plus I was quite angry with myself for being navigationally challenged.

Recently, as I left a work-related conference in a large center, I proceeded to head down the left side of a steep stairwell instead of the right. Spotting several students coming up that way, I quickly shifted my position to the right side of the stairwell. As luck would have it, my actions did not go unnoticed.

"Oops - you almost went down the wrong road!" a colleague yelled to me from behind.

"That's the story of my life," I jokingly replied.

"Well, it's the story of mine too," he agreed.

We both laughed and kept walking as we went our separate ways.

Being the philosophical person that I am, that brief exchange sent me into deep thought as I walked to my car. Many of us, at some point in our lives, make what we consider to be a wrong turn. Sometimes it seems as though we're stuck in a maze - like the one I struggled with as I attempted to learn how to get to my job in Atlanta. We may have missed our turn, or gone down one road when another might have been more expedient, efficient, logical or practical.