What If Your Best Decisions Were the Wrong Ones?
2 minutes read
Most leaders are taught that success comes from setting clear goals and executing the plan. Yet, when I look back at my own life, I realize something surprising:
I was wrong.
The path I carefully imagined is not the one I walked. The most meaningful opportunities, relationships, and transformations arrived through doors I never planned to open.
I was going to become a university professor, contribute to science, and mentor the next generation of researchers.
I was going to spend my life with the man I married, building a home filled with friendship, travel, and shared memories.
I was going to grow old alongside lifelong friends while building my career in Germany.
Something else happened instead.
Looking back, I see that I have been wrong many times. Not because I made poor decisions, but because life had a broader imagination than I did.
Every unexpected turn required me to let go of an identity I thought was permanent. To grieve what was no longer possible. To discover strengths I didn’t know I possessed.
As leaders, we often mistake control for wisdom. Our analytical minds—valuable as they are—constantly optimize, predict, and reduce uncertainty. AI does this even better, processing patterns at a scale no human can match.
But the deepest decisions in life rarely emerge from prediction alone.
They emerge from presence.
Our Body often senses what your mind cannot yet explain. A quiet sense of expansion. A tightening in your chest. A feeling of curiosity that refuses to disappear. These signals are data too—just not the kind AI can measure.
Looking back with gratitude reminds me that growth is often less about perfect planning and more about noticing what life is asking of us now.
Perhaps leadership today is not about holding the map more tightly, but about developing the courage to follow what unfolds while staying grounded in your values.
The Invitation:
When you look back on your life, what turned out better because it didn’t go according to plan?
If this reflection resonates with you, I would love to hear from you. I return every email and message I receive from you. You can message me directly here or book a first discovery call for free here.
