There’s a meme of Kermit the Frog looking out of a rain-streaked window saying, “I wonder what ever happened to the tourists that I gave the wrong directions?” It makes me laugh in self-reflection because that’s me. The best thing I can do for anyone asking me for directions is to politely decline because I’ll only get you more lost. My husband and friends know that my sense of direction can be questionable, and even with navigation on in the car, I’m easily distracted and miss or make wrong turns often. So, it is important for me to follow directions and pay attention to the correct path. However, I’m human and prone to mistakes and making lots of wrong turns both literally and figuratively in life. The question is, not will or when I make wrong turns, but how do I quickly recognize, acknowledge, and take actions to course correct to get back on the right path. I’ve made many wrong turns in my 54 years, some little and some large and everywhere in between.
Some wrong turns can be smaller but have significant impact. For example, in my weight loss journey, I made some wrong turns this past week in food choices due to my stress triggers. It was an incredibly stressful week at work with lots of travel, several project activities and events coalescing into the same week due to schedule slippage and changes. And the work surge continues as I’m working my 7th and 8th consecutive days in a row since beginning work last Sunday through this weekend. On top of the busy work schedule, I have graduate school three nights a week. So, work, school, and personal stress levels this past week were very high, resulting in some bad turns with food choices. However, I acknowledged this mid-week and recognized my weight was trending up and I felt off with my health. I immediately started course correcting to get back on the right path. I was honest with myself on what I did wrong this week, acknowledged it, took stock of the damage done, and immediately did the work needed to get back on track. Now, this morning when I did my weekly weigh in, I’ve lost 2 lbs. this week for a total of 40 lbs. lost in 13 weeks since December 15, 2023. Acknowledging the wrong turn, being honest about what I did wrong and immediately course correcting to get back on path were critical for the progress I made this week. I’m human and make mistakes, but I needed to own up to what I did wrong and get back on path quickly. Now, for a more serious example of wrong turns, the earliest wrong turn in life I made that comes to mind is when in my pre-teen years I started hanging around these bad boys in my hometown who were often getting into trouble.
These new boys in our neighborhood used to hang out in the woods behind our homes when not riding bikes. I was happy to have new friends to spend time with after being the only kid my age around for a while. But what started out as normal kid fun riding our bikes and running around exploring in the woods, quickly took a wrong turn. The other boys noticed some bikes left outside in the back of a business at the edge of the wooded area from our homes. They talked about taking the bikes, but I didn’t want to have anything to do with it, told them so, and I left and went home. However, I didn’t say anything to my parents or other adults about what I heard. I didn’t meet up with the boys the next day, but a few days later, the police came by our house and told my parents that the business owner reported some bikes stolen and had seen several boys playing in the woods near his business. He described the other boys and me too as ones he had seen before playing in the woods. I was nervous since I had never done anything wrong before nor had any experience involving the police. Daddy said he believed me when I said I didn’t steal any bikes, but that it was important that I speak up and tell the whole truth of what I knew. I acknowledged that I had taken a wrong turn and been hanging around with the bad boys who actually stole the bikes, but that I didn’t participate in the theft. The police thanked me and Daddy, and the bikes were recovered from the boys who stole them. I learned a valuable lesson from that experience to acknowledge when you make a wrong turn, in this case my wrong turn was hanging out with the bad boys and not reporting what they were planning to adults. I took responsibility for my wrong turn and was honest and told the truth so that those who were hurt by the wrong turn and events could be made whole again.
In adulthood I’ve made many wrong turns, big and small, as well. Some are literal wrong turns like the time I was driving from downtown Chicago back south towards the outskirts of the city in Indiana. I made a wrong turn, putting me on a highway headed west alongside the dangerous areas of South Chicago. I was too nervous to get off the interstate onto surface roads for fear of being car jacked. But I didn’t want to drive all the way to Iowa to turn around either. So, I noticed an off ramp up ahead and an on ramp in the opposite direction just underneath the interstate overpass. So, I took the exit at 30 mph and did a hard left then another left to bet back on the interstate going in the correct direction. I barely stopped to ensure the path was clear and no pedestrians or oncoming cars before I whipped the car back onto the Interstate in the correct direction.
There were many other literal wrong turns over the years, especially when driving in small villages in southern Italy or in southwest England through the seaside villages. You never knew if a wrong turn resulted in an extremely narrow lane/road, with some challenging white-knuckle driving. Not to mention all the wrong turns I took on round abouts in the UK during our trip in 2023. But when I did make a wrong turn, I owned up to it, accepted it, and did whatever needed to find my way back to the right path. I continue to this day to make wrong turns literally and figuratively in life. I’m human and we all make wrong turns. The most important thing is to recognize it as soon as possible, assess the impact for yourself and/or others involved, and immediately take action to get back on the right path. If you are honest with yourself and with others when you’ve taken a wrong turn and get to work immediately to find your way back to the right path, you will be thankful you did. So, watch out for those wrong turns.
Think about your stories and times when you’ve taken a wrong turn. They will happen. Just be prepared to respond accordingly to find your way back to the path you desire. What are some of the wrong turns you’ve taken? Did you acknowledge them early on and take responsibility for getting back on track? I hope this post inspired you to reflect on some of your wrong turns and how you got back on track. Wishing you safe and happy journey and a quick recovery from those wrong turns so that you may get back on the right path for you.
