If you haven't yet, it is likely that you will reach a point in your personal and/or professional life, and think now what? Which direction do I go? Sure, you can follow the same route you are on -- as we all know, life throws us its own set of twists and turns without introducing new ones. Or, you can choose to explore the road less traveled, which as the poet Robert Frost proposes, can make all the difference.
Last year, I had the good fortune to spend some time with author and professor Susan Richards Shreve, who mentioned the concept of The Left Turn, and that the MFA program at George Mason University, where she teaches, instituted a class in their MFA program by the same title. Short stories and novels are often crafted around the left turn: that moment when a protagonist or a plot takes a seemingly unexpected turn.
I was thrilled to have a name for this phenomenon. I had recently completed a novel that abounded with left turns, but beyond that, my own life was full of them, too. Some of the most memorable left turns for me occurred in the wake of 9/11, when I entered an intensive yoga teacher training program in New York City, and subsequently took a three-month hiatus from my publishing career to live with Benedictine and Trappist Monks in monasteries around the U.S. and Canada -- research for a book project, but really an event that altered the course of my life. Shortly thereafter, with passion as my guide coupled with a nagging feeling that there was more to my life, I left publishing to pursue a host of new careers, which included teaching college literature and writing, writing academic books, teaching yoga, and led me to an 11+ year career at Korn Ferry, all in a 12-month span, and back to where I am at now: pursuing my next career venture! Are we all subject to take some left turns in our lives?
To me, the left turn doesn't have to be dramatic or life altering, but it can be. I've come to think of it as having one hand of cards that is fine, perhaps familiar and easy, but deciding to turn them in and ask for a new hand. It's the concept of making a choice that may not be the most likely one, but the one that instinct, passion, and vision lead you to -- it's the choice that can transform your life in unimaginable and exciting ways. The left turn is perhaps unexpected to our acquaintances, but to those closest to us, it is often the inevitable direction.
Your left turn may involve starting your own business, embarking on a new job, a career switch, pursuing a degree, a three-month trek through Europe, or upping and moving to that place that you always dreamed of living. It's a bit of expect the unexpected, live your life/worry less, and the time is now.
While your left turn may seem fun and adventurous, that doesn't mean it will be devoid of struggle and discomfort. Often, some of the most incredible experiences of our lives require us to pass through a bit of darkness until we emerge into the light. Change is never easy, but it is what makes the world tick, it is what makes each and every one of us tick, and it leads to growth. So next time you reach that intersection and you find yourself thinking now what? Maybe it's time for you to take a left turn.
Visit www.JodiWeiss.net to learn more about Jodi's new ventures.