“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” ~ Yogi Berra

Yogi Berra was a legendary catcher for the New York Yankees, also known for his “Yogisms”, timeless pieces of advice just like this. We all face “forks in the road” throughout our lives.  These are the big decisions, that impact us personally, emotionally and financially.  In addition these decisions impact our families, friends, colleagues and our communities. These decisions shape our lives. We will touch on the risks associated with certain choices, how we got there in the first place and how we faced our fear to get to the other side.

Every Choice is a Decision

Here are a few choices we can make when we are at a fork in the road:

1) Stand Still

Paralyzed by the fear of making the wrong decision we may decide to do nothing. We stay in a place of inaction, a choice that can lead to regret and feelings of helplessness.

2) Go Down the Middle

This is not an actual road and may be filled with bumps, potholes, puddles, ups and downs. This challenging terrain will lead you somewhere and you may learn a lot about yourself on the journey.  Maybe life doesn’t have to be this difficult, you may decide to get back on the paved road eventually.

3) Choose to Turn Back

You feel more comfortable with the known rather than the unknown so you turn back and continue to do the same things, perhaps expecting a new outcome. The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over, expecting different results.

4) Choose to Move Forward

Choosing to move forward into the unknown can be scary.  We embark on a journey with no idea where the road may lead and how our lives or the lives of our loved ones may change in the process.  The first step can begin the process of transformation.

Your life does not get better from chance, it gets better by change ~ Jim Rohn

If this is true, how do we avoid the pitfalls of standing still, choosing to turn back or going down the middle of the fork?  All three of these decisions are fear based, perhaps a fear of embracing the unknown.

What gets us to the Fork?

A Big Problem

We perceive a problem exists, a big enough problem when unsolved can impact us personally emotionally and financially.  Perhaps you are over 50 years old and have dedicated your life to your career and you have just learned your role has become obsolete.  Your kids are heading to University soon and your expenses are increasing at a time when once your severance runs out you will have no income.  

You have been answering ads on many job search sites and realize your skills are outdated. You have been short listed for a few roles only to learn someone much younger was chosen. Now what?  

Do you put your head in the sand and do nothing, do you chose the middle of the road, take a role that will keep you busy but not provide the challenge or the level of income you require to maintain your lifestyle?

There is no turning back, in some weird way, being forced to leave a job can be a gift, you may be forced to keep moving forward. You face your fear believing there is a solution out there.

Finding a Solution

It’s a complex number of factors that can influence a role becoming obsolete, especially in the constantly changing world in which we live. The economy, other business disruptions, a move from traditional bricks and mortar business to name a few.  Who would have guessed Blockbuster would be here one day and gone the next because of Netflix.  These changes don’t happen overnight, they are gradual and when they’re here, we are often left wondering what happened.

For decades we were Executive Recruiters.  We observed countless people in their fifties facing that scary fork in the road not knowing what to do next.  Regardless of all the wisdom and experience people brought to the table, employers would often still hire someone who had a longer runway.  Businesses were being disrupted and often people were left wondering what to do next.

Our Executive Search business was being disrupted right before our eyes.  We were in our 50’s and 60’s when we realized we had better make the choice to find something new before the choice was made for us.  We believed if we didn’t find a solution our business would cease to exist as we knew it and we would be in trouble emotionally, financially and personally.  Our health could suffer, we could be forced to sell our house and we wouldn’t have enough money to sustain our lifestyle.  We wouldn’t be able to travel like we had dreamed and we would be filled with regret and anger.  With our identity so wrapped up in our business, losing it could have devastating effects, many too frightening to even think about. 

What Gets Us to Take Action?

Time to Make a Change

Given our belief that not making a change was more threatening than making one, we took a leap of faith and went full speed ahead into the digital world.  We have endured a very steep learning curve.  At times this has been very challenging.  What has kept us going is our belief not making a change could have devastating effects on our health, our relationship and our family.  We were fortunate when we were faced with a fork in the road, standing still or turning back wasn’t an option.  We faced our fear and are now part of an educational program, a community of like minded individuals called Six Figure Mentors or SFM.  

Making this change into the digital world is not for everyone, it takes hard work and dedication to learning something new.  Take a look at these resources and see what you think. Maybe the time is right for you to make a change too! 

Conclusion

We all face forks in the road throughout our life, these are the big decisions that have the potential to shape our lives.  Forks in the road are inevitable, it’s how we deal with them that determines where we are when our life ends.  We can stand still and perhaps live a life filled with regret and self-doubt or we can face our fears and take a leap of faith to new and exciting, sometimes scary possibilities.  We are the masters of our destiny.

 The choice is ours!

What forks in the road have you faced?