Going in Circles: Why I No Longer Fully Trust My GPS

I was on my way to a conference at a hotel I’d never visited before.

The neighborhood was new and beautifully planned, with lovely buildings, clean lines, and tidy sidewalks.

Everything looked so orderly.

I’d entered the hotel address into my navigation system and was following its directions.

Simple enough, right?

Until I got close to the hotel and my GPS told me to turn right.

So I turned right.

A block later, it told me to take another right.

Then another.

And another.

It was a busy little neighborhood, with intersections to navigate, traffic to watch, pedestrians crossing, and signs to read. Add a navigation system giving me directions, and I had plenty to keep me occupied.

I was so focused on everything immediately in front of me that it took a while to recognize what was happening.

I was doing everything right.

Except getting anywhere.

Something about the neighborhood was beginning to look familiar.

Wait a minute. Haven’t I seen that building before?

Of course I had.

Because I’d just driven past it!

I was going around the same block.

You’d think that would have been my cue to stop and reconsider the directions. Instead… I kept going.

After all, the navigation system had gotten me this far. Surely it knew something I didn’t.

Maybe there was a one-way street, or I’d missed the hotel entrance, or maybe there was some perfectly logical explanation for why I was being directed around the same four streets.

So I gave it another chance.

And there I was.

Back at the same intersection.

Again.

And what did my GPS tell me to do?

Turn. Right.

By now, I was getting a little frustrated.

How many times am I supposed to drive around this block before this thing figures out where I’m going?

Then I had to laugh.

There I was, getting annoyed with my GPS for giving me directions I kept choosing to follow!

I actually said out loud:

“There is absolutely no way I’m turning right again!”

And then, by some reason, I decided to look up.

At the top of the building directly in front of me was the name of the hotel where my conference was being held.

The hotel!

The very place I’d been trying to find.

And the driveway?

Barely a hundred feet ahead.

All that circling, when the entrance was practically a stone’s throw away!

I couldn’t help laughing at myself.

But the experience stayed with me.

How often do we do this in life?

We get so caught up in what we’re doing that we overlook the patterns unfolding right in front of us.

We’re busy making decisions, solving problems, doing what we believe will move us forward.

Yet, we find ourselves returning to the same place, wondering why our efforts haven’t brought us closer to where we want to be.

There’s an interesting psychological concept that comes to mind: cognitive flexibility.

It’s our ability to shift perspective, consider new possibilities, and adapt our thinking as circumstances change.

It’s also an important part of resilience.

Think about it. Many of the approaches and habits we rely on have served us beautifully in the past. They feel familiar, comfortable, and dependable. Naturally, we tend to return to them.

But growth often asks something different of us.

What brought us here may call for a different approach to take us where we want to go next.

Sometimes the most valuable thing we can do is pause, look at our circumstances from a fresh perspective, and consider another way forward.

That’s the beauty of a course correction.

Our destination can remain the same while our approach to it evolves.

And, that small shift opens up possibilities we hadn’t considered before.

Think about your everyday life.

Perhaps there’s a conversation you’d like to have differently. A challenge at work that calls for a fresh approach. Or a personal goal you’ve been working toward but have not gone as far as you’d like yet.

How much of our energy goes into micro-managing the details, while the bigger picture remains waiting for our attention?

Sometimes, moving forward begins with a simple question:

What else might be possible here?

Where in your life might you be going around the same block?

And what might become possible if you made a simple course correction?

When I first wrote about this experience years ago, looking up carried a spiritual meaning for me.

It still does.

There have been times when looking up has meant seeking guidance beyond my own understanding. At other times, it has simply meant stepping back, lifting my gaze, and allowing myself to see the bigger picture.

And sometimes, I believe, it means both.

There’s something powerful about creating space for a perspective greater than the one we’re holding in the moment.

I still smile when I think about that hotel.

There I was, driving around a perfectly lovely neighborhood, getting an increasingly detailed tour of the same four streets… twice.

And the hotel was right there!

I didn’t need better directions. I didn’t need to drive faster. And I certainly didn’t need another right turn.

I just needed to look up.

As for my GPS, I still use it.

But if it tells me to turn right for the fifth time, I’m going to have a few questions.

And from then on, I’m definitely looking up!

— Dr. Lorry