Look Up Once in a While

When I was that idealistic 20-something (disclaimer: I still have quite a bit of idealistic thought, and no, I don't think that's a bad thing), it was full steam ahead as I launched my career as a journalist - no one was going to stop me in my path that I had designed. Head was down as I plowed forward in a quest to reach my goals. This plight led me to becoming a managing editor at a publishing company and then a journalist at Reuters in New York City where I later helped to form the new "Power" desk aka electricity when that market boomed. Everything was going according to plan...for a little while.

Enter reality, those unexpected events that you have no control over.

My life swerved, and I soon found myself devising ways to make it over obstacles and making that left turn when I needed to. There were beautiful moments like the birth of my son, which of course also led me to making some changes. One big one was making the decision not to go back to my job in NYC following his birth so that I could go full force into motherhood and work instead from home on my writing. There were other reasons for making this decision, but no need for that explanation right now.

I say all this because one of the good things about getting older is dare I say, wisdom - applying what you have learned to deal with those unexpected things in your life and taking notice of those unexpected twists and turns. About 25 years later, and now I look up often on my journey to make sure I'm not missing any unexpected opportunities along the way. I have been doing this for several years, and it has served me well. I've met some amazing people along the way, and I've met some opportunities that I would not have seen had I not looked up.

Those unexpected events seem to propagate as you age...or maybe it's just that we notice them more often. I'm not advocating that your life takes lots of turns, but I am recommending that you look up once in a while to check out the scenery.