Decisions Are Like Dominoes

​Have you ever thought that if one thing hadn’t happened a whole set of things never would have followed? Like dominos in time, a single event linking a series of opportunities that gain unstoppable momentum.

Synchronicity is a term that is frequently used to represent the process of experiences coming together and forming some sort of meaning - kind of like a game of dominoes. On this journey, I’ve learnt to interpret moments of synchronicity as winks from the universe telling me “You’re getting warmer." And in this case, it’s both figurative and literal. I’m headed to Chile!

In January 2018, I’m heading to Chile for the third job of my working sabbatical with a company called Exosphere. I’ll have more details about work shortly but for now I wanted to share a story about what happens when you let synchronicity lead you.
 
Little did I know when I signed up for surf camp last autumn that I’d already the first domino over. You see... this opportunity in Chile would not have been possible if a huge number of dots had not been cosmically connected.

• If I had not gone to the Surf and Social Good retreat in Portugal last year, I never would have met Martin and may not have been working in Europe this spring.
• If I had not been living in Europe, I likely would not have flown to Paris for Debbie’s 40th birthday weekend.
• If I had not joined the festivities in Paris, I would not have shared a lumpy pullout sofa with Caren who I bonded with over stories of travel adventures, change, online dating, habit hacking (as well as a zillion other topics).
• And if Caren had not also been in the midst of a career transition herself, she never would have gone to South America to participate in Exosphere’s six-week intensive learning program on emerging technology.
• And if she hadn't challenged herself to step out of her comfort zone to do this program, she never would have been offered the Chief of Staff role at Exosphere.
• And if she wasn’t the incoming Chief of Staff, she never would have shared my story and the bold vision I have of my mid-career sabbatical with their CEO and suggested I come work with them for a while.

 
That is a long list of if’s and if I wasn’t paying attention, I may not even notice the clicking music they made as they fell, tipping gently into the next event in sequence, possibly setting off other ripples that I’m not yet aware of.
 
Setting up my third mid-career internship has been huge contrast to my experience this summer where there was a long stretch where I thought I was going to have to pull the plug on this crazy dream because it just wasn’t working out. This time the opportunity found me.

​But decisions are like dominoes and right now they seem to be falling into place. All I have to do is take a deep breath and play the game!

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