Life, Inflection Points, And The Road Taken

One day. One second. One moment. That is all it takes for your world to change dramatically. When you are in the midst of it, you may not even realize it is happening.

The journey of life is a series of binary decisions - right or left, up or down, black or white - that wind us through time and bring us to the here and now. At any given point in time, we may have a destination based on goals or a 50,000 foot overview of our life. We may have a plan of how we are going to get there. It could consist of today's todo list, a monthly schedule, or a five- or ten-year plan. We have a set of expectations that we think serve as the basis for our future life: career, love, or happiness in general.

Then, the path changes. We hit an inflection point. Life happens.

Robert Frost said it well in "The Road Not Taken" -

"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference".

I would suggest that in the end, the road taken is a fascinating one.

We make choices as we go - first the right fork in the road, then the left. A glance backwards and we realize that we have lived a vivid existence full of wonderful life experiences. We may be in a place that finds us happy and fulfilled, yet completely off the beaten path from our original plan. And that's ok.

I liken this to an inflection point - the point where a curve goes from being concave to convex, or vice versa. Life is full of inflection points, moments when we suddenly change direction - not arbitrarily, but as an evolution of our thinking, our growth, and our personal development. Some of the biggest ones relate to our career, and mine has certainly been no different.

A departure point: One of the first significant inflection points was when I was 18. I was sitting on the floor of our living room with two options in front of me - a future career as a physiotherapist or as a photojournalist. The only similarity was that they both began with the letter "P"! I had been accepted into both programs at two of the finest academic institutions in Canada. A choice, a direction, and a career of what has now been 25 years.

Teaching: There was the professional meeting I attended in 1994 in Austin at which I met two physical therapists who were PT faculty at Southwest Texas State University. As luck would have it, we were all heading to Toronto to present at a North American conference. From these origins, lo and behold, they convinced me that I should be actively involved in teaching. Fast forward, and there are countless lectures, conferences, and presentations - to peers and students alike - on the local, national, and international stage.

The world of McKenzie: This was the same year that I attended my first McKenzie course. I will admit, I really didn't want to be there. But after a challenging first day, I realized that in order to be the best clinician I could be, I really should listen and learn and critically assess the content presented. I never looked back. A scant 4 years later I was one of just 150 (now 350) clinicians in the world to have completed the highest level of training in the McKenzie method. A choice - and an inflection point that changed the way I view the world.

Reflections from Kona: But perhaps one of the most notable inflection points was the realization I had while sitting in a restaurant on Ali'i Drive in Kona in 2003. It was the eve of the Ironman World Championship. I found myself reflecting on "Wide World Of Sports" in 1982. This was the legendary telecast of Julie Moss' epic crawl to the finish. "I am not sure why anyone would do this", I exclaimed to my father. Fast forward, and there I was, supporting a pro triathlete that I was coaching, and having a top 20 pro finisher the next day.

The list goes on and on. You may not realize it when you are in the midst of it, but an inflection point is very easy to spot when you are looking in the rear view mirror. It is fascinating that a series of binary decisions - in the right sequence - bring us to these wonderful points in our lives. These are the moments that perhaps you couldn't or wouldn't have planned, but you are so thankful that they were a part of your journey. They are moments that change our thinking and forever alter our being.

I, for one, am thankful for all that I have experienced - all the things that have brought me to this moment in time, to be who I am, right here, right now. But when I look in the rear view mirror, I have to admit - I certainly didn't expect to see that particular winding road behind me. It has been a great road taken, without a doubt.

Photo credits: qmnonic