Trust where you are with GPS Theory
How the path you didn’t plan prepared you for who you are now
I closed my laptop with a sigh and pushed it across the counter. Closing my laptop always signals the end of my workday. My brain was fried, and my eyes were tired after a long day staring at my screen. I had been managing a big content push for a client’s website. On my end, this involved managing a team of writers, creating SEO-optimized outlines, editing their work, and getting it live on the site, all while keeping in mind the correct CTAs, affiliate links, interlinking, and on-page SEO.
Things don’t always go according to plan with freelance writers, either, so I was also managing shifting deadlines, communicating edits, and more. I was good at balancing it all, though. It was a juggling act, and somehow, it came naturally to me.
But as I breathed out the overwhelm from my day, I noticed the small ping in the back of my mind reminding me that I hadn’t written a single thing of my own.
I was running an operation that was optimized, organized, and always ahead of schedule. I planned for writers being late or needing extra edits. I planned for things going wrong. But I never planned on working in a role adjacent to writing.
I realized it had been years since I had written for myself.
When I was in college, I struggled to pick a major. I went in undecided and later switched to journalism. I decided that even though I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, writing was at the center of most jobs. Writing was also the one thing that felt natural to me.
Somewhere along the way, I took a turn toward marketing, then SEO (search engine optimization). Before I knew it, I looked up and realized I was far off the path I had pictured for myself, one that involved writing.
Even though I was good at what I was doing, I felt unaligned. I felt unsure. My career path had already looked different than most. I had pivoted many times, across many industries, always searching for the right fit. My path was far from linear.
Even though I wasn’t sure what was next, it was crystal clear that each career adventure had brought me growth. Each unexpected turn led me to where I am now. Though some parts were winding and unfamiliar, they brought me to the present.
At the time, I didn’t realize those turns were a part of my route.
The routes and detours of our lives are similar to using GPS. When you miss a turn, it reroutes you. No matter how many wrong turns you take, it finds a way to guide you to your destination. It works from your current position, not your past one. GPS never criticizes or punishes you for taking the wrong turn. It simply adjusts and moves forward. The destination remains possible, even when the route changes.
I think the wrong turns that we take in both our careers and life in general are often necessary ones. It can be really unsettling to take a turn down an unfamiliar gravel road. Your car is bouncing along the rough terrain, and you’re sure you’ll lose your GPS signal any second and be stranded in the middle of nowhere. But then you come around a bend and find the most stunning view. A view you would have never seen if you hadn’t taken that wrong turn.
Those “wrong” turns become experiences that equip and prepare you for your path. The next time you find yourself on an unfamiliar road, you aren’t quite as nervous as you were before. You know that the unfamiliar road was worth venturing down, and you begin to trust that the unfamiliar road may still be leading you somewhere meaningful.
All of my career paths have molded me into the person I am today. I’m a stronger writer because I’ve had the privilege of editing the work of incredible writers. I know what I don’t want to do, because I’ve tried a whole bunch of things. I’m more sure of myself because of each of those uncharted paths I chose to wander down.
And then one day, you look back and realize the detours were a part of the route all along.
Now that I realize the detours were part of my route, I find it easier to trust where I am. I no longer see myself as behind, delayed, or on the wrong path. I can see that I am exactly where my path has led me. This realization has helped me come to terms with the uncertainty I once resisted.
Uncertainty used to feel like I was moving in the wrong direction. Now, it feels like part of the process.
These detours have led me back to writing. They never took me away from it. Instead, they prepared me for the writer I am now. This realization didn’t just bring me back to writing. It changed how I see my life moving forward.
I used to be a Type A planner. I had a clear picture of what I wanted my life to look like and when. Somewhere along the detours of my life, I learned to let it unfold. I no longer feel the need to see the full map. GPS shows the next step, not the entire route. That’s part of the adventure, not knowing what is around the corner or what the next step may hold.
Maybe you can relate. Do you feel behind or like your life hasn’t followed the path you imagined? Do you feel like you’re still figuring it out? I’ve been there too.
GPS works from where you are, not where you thought you’d be. No matter how long the detour, your route is still active.
When we plug in a destination, we don’t question the route. We trust it to guide us. We may take wrong turns along the way, but we’re never lost, only rerouted.
And for the first time, I trust exactly where I am.
What’s one “wrong turn” in your life that, looking back, may have actually been part of your route?
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At 70 I am still figuring it out! Life gave me a big detour but as you said I have just been rerouted I still am on my path. Thank you for your well written insight. This should be mandatory reading for all high school graduates!
I love this about GPS working from where you are. We gotta start somewhere and keep.moving forward!!