#476: Zero Shame. Monster Courage.

The second that the thought hits me…
I grimace. I cringe. I swear.

“I went the wrong freakin’ way.”

In walking across seven countries, the words and I have met a few times.

In the fading daylight in Spain and Portugal…I missed seeing yellow arrows that would’ve pointed me in the right direction. In the quiet mountains of Japan…I couldn’t read signs, guessed incorrectly and chose the wrong route. In stormy England…the weather was so nasty bad that I lost focus and the trail. In going coast-to-coast across Ireland…I walked a self-created route where small country roads didn’t match Google maps. In steaming and sticky France and Italy…heat exhaustion foolishly nudged me to take non-existent shortcuts.

I’ve made lots of wrong turns.

But never has a wrong turn stopped me from reaching my goal.
Only continuing to walk the same wrong direction has the power to do that.

Made a bad decision and feel hopeless?
Then let me open a door of hope.

Turn around.

Wrong job?
Wrong choice?
Wrong strategy?
Wrong career path?
Wrong relationship?

Turn around.

I understand turning around can feel like we’re giving up, going backwards and starting over…but that’s not how I see it. Admitting “I got that wrong” is giving myself approval to stop walking a path that’s getting me nowhere I want to go.

In my book…

There’s zero shame in turning around.
Just a demonstration of monster courage.

Life is too short to keep walking the wrong walk.

Turn around.