Off Course/ On Purpose Part 4- Detours Are Not Dead Ends

Nov 21, 2025

“Recalculating…”

It’s the calm, emotionless voice we hear from our GPS when we miss a turn.
No yelling. No shaming. Just a gentle pause… and then a gentle:

“Recalculating.”

I was shocked to realize my tech was giving me a lot more grace than I give myself sometimes. When you get lost, your GPS system doesn’t cancel your destination. It doesn’t accuse you of being stupid. It simply acknowledges, “You’re off course—but I can still get you there.”

A Wrong Turn Doesn’t End the Trip

On that road trip when I took the longest U-turn of my life, I felt embarrassed and frustrated, and I was really hard on myself. Wasting two hours heading in the wrong direction was not part of the plan.

But that didn’t mean the trip was over. We weren’t stranded. We weren’t disqualified from getting home. We just needed to turn around—and keep going.

That’s the power of a detour: It might delay you, but it doesn’t define you.

Shift the Mindset: From Shame to Strategy

When life doesn’t go as planned, it’s easy to let shame creep in:

“I should’ve known better.”
“This set me back too far.”
“I’ll never recover from this.”

But that’s not the voice of truth. That’s the voice of self-condemnation—and it keeps you stuck. What if, instead, we listened for the voice that says:

“You’re not done. Let’s recalculate.”

Recalculation doesn’t erase the past—it simply redirects your path forward. There is a powerful opportunity to allow the detours for growth.

Resilience Lives in the Reset

Every detour offers a decision: Will I give up—or learn and get back on track?

Resilience isn’t about never getting off course. It’s about refusing to let the detour derail and define your destination.

And here’s what I’ve seen over and over again—in leadership, faith, business, and marriage:
Some of the best breakthroughs come from the detours…when I felt I got off course.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts” - Winston Churchill

Those moments shape us—if we’re willing to listen and learn.

Off Course—Still On Purpose

We treat detours like wasted time, but sometimes, the detour is where the real growth happens.

Maybe the delay was protecting you. Maybe it was preparing you. Maybe it was the only way you'd slow down long enough to hear what you really needed. The detour is not a dead end, it can even be the space and the road you needed for this season and the next.

“Recalculating…” isn’t a rejection. It’s a reminder: You still have a destination worth reaching.

Reflection Questions:

Where have you let a detour define your direction?
Is it time to hit “recalculate” and move forward?
What can you learn about yourself on the detour?