Do you ever sit back and reminisce about some past event that took place? An event that had a significant effect on your life, and when you think back, you reflect on how lucky you were to move past it? It could be a decision that you made to do or not do something, and the result of that decision shaped your life in the present moment greatly. I have those moments where I sit and observe time like a winding and bending river. The significant decisions I made in the past are those bends in the river of time. They are decisions that change life towards a certain trajectory, usually, the greater the change, the more significant the bend. I wanted to cover this topic because recently I started asking how much luck has played in some of these decisions. Then, when I got to the inception point of the decision, I started to trace back what action I took prior to the realisation of that outcome.
Rather than using hypotheticals, let’s put some examples on the table. In 2015, I made the decision to take a 6-month vacation. Reading that, you think, well, that’s nothing significant, which in most contexts would be true. Furthermore, if I were to take such a trip at this stage of my life, I would probably not experience the same affect. So, the timing of when we act on certain decisions are important, and right now, I don’t know what those guiding principles are yet for the timing of decisions. I will cover elements of it in another chapter. Let’s return to the travel scenario. When I made the decision to travel away for six months, I was employed and working full time hours; however, I didn’t have excess funds just lying around to cover major expenses. My accrued hours from work would not also cover six months of annual leave—nowhere close to that. That meant when I left my job, I would run the risk of not coming back to it. Simply put, it meant my job would not wait for me to return, my position would need to be filled. I am sharing that point specifically because those minute details have shaped how I act, plan, behave, and think in certain situations. Hopefully, I can elaborate on them later.

In the lead-up to the trip, I was involved in various extracurricular activities, which felt like they were keeping me in certain cycle. The thing was, that cycle was becoming physically draining with ‘work’ and the lack of sufficient time for my body to readjust and rest. It was not a cycle that I felt I wanted to maintain. The other part was that I felt I had gained all I could from the area I was working in. It wasn’t an industry to which I felt I could contribute further. All these elements were running in my thoughts, and what would result as my next step was uncertain. The resting moment or holiday was for me to figure my thoughts out. So, weeks went by, and I finally decided to put in for my annual leave. Like I said, the most time I could take off from work was somewhere up to 2 months. So, I put in my leave for the next 2 months, knowing damn well that my visa is for 6 months of travel. Anyway, to not drag the story out, within my first month on the trip, I handed in my resignation while on the holiday. I asked my brother to return all my work stuff while I was away overseas. 

So, after a move that was basically me burning the bridge with my employer. I didn’t know what I would do after I returned, but I had six months to pay attention and listen to myself. More than 6 years after that decision, I feel that was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I wish I could tell you after I came back that everything was magical, but that would be a lie. That trip, that time off made me pay attention to my wants and the actions I am taking towards them. I became more disciplined, more aware of my body, and more aware of my surroundings, and the combinations of those skills have enhanced my perspective and identity. That in effect, I think, created a significant bend in my river of life.

What did that story have to do with luck, obsession, and preparation?     Everything! My obsession with the travel started probably at least 12 months prior to me taking the trip. After spending lots of time obsessing about it that phase turned into me planning. I needed to know what I will need; how will I navigate a foreign country where I have never been, alone. A country that does not speak the same language as me. Where will I stay? and above all will I have enough budgets to cover that length of travel. I also had to think about my responsibility and my living arrangement in the country I am leaving from. Just because I am taking a holiday, did not mean my life in the country of citizenship was going to follow suit. So, I had to think about expenses I will need to cover while I am away. I had to be satisfied with the answers to those questions before taking my step. After I felt I had as much planning as I could, I started implementing and getting responses to my questions. 

Now the luck part of these chapter, I wouldn’t think existed in the present moment when I was making all those decisions. I only notice the luck when I reflect on the steps I took. Why I felt they were lucky because indecisiveness in that present moment would have led me to a completely different path. A path, I don’t feel I would be satisfied with myself in should I reflect on from the initial timeline of not taking the holiday. The wealth of experience and understanding I have gained as result of that decision has brought more awareness and clarity and my decision making. I have gained more confident in my abilities and expressions. So that’s why I look at that decision from a lens and feel it was lucky but luck because of obsession, luck because of planning and preparation. When those principles are followed the result amplifies eventually. These lenses are of course hypothetical, it may have not been the case in the initial timeline because I can’t see from the vantage point of that time.  However, we can always imagine our decision from the present and take it forward ten-fold to gauge the ripple effect in time.