Recalculating Mindset: Why Wrong Turns Don’t Ruin You

Daniela Goes-Udoff
Aug 29
3 min read

Updated: Oct 27

Your internal GPS never screams “you idiot.” It simply says: “Recalculating.” No shame. No judgment. Just adjustment.

So why do we, with our magnificent brains, bark at ourselves like a Chihuahua every time we take a wrong turn?

When the Route Collapses

This year, my own “GPS reroute” came loud and clear, it taught me the power of a recalculating mindset: mistakes aren’t failures, they’re reroutes. My career collapsed, my pride tumbled down with it, and for a while it felt like punishment from the Universe for every rule I’d broken.

And yet — after the crash, something else appeared. I suddenly had time to walk slowly on the beach, to notice my own reflection in the mirror (wrinkles and beauty both), to sit in silence at noon with nothing but my breath. For thirty days I felt joy pour out of me so wildly I had to switch to waterproof mascara.

Then came the dilemma: what now? Another corporate cage? Another rush for safety? In the silence, my heart whispered back: “Remember who you are. Remember what you always wanted. You don’t need faith before you do it. You do it — and faith arrives.”

The recalculation had begun.

The Chihuahua vs. the Compass

My inner Chihuahua barks daily: “Go ahead… be yourself. But you’ll give up soon — you always do. The moment it gets hard, you’ll quit. I’ll be here, waiting to say I told you so.”

It’s exhausting, that voice. But then the compass of my heart speaks, softer but steadier: “You are fine. You will be fine. Everything is going to be all right in the end. If it’s not all right, it’s not the end. Keep moving. Remember your achievements. You know how to get there — you’ve done it before, and you’ll do it again.”

The Science of recalculating mindset

Your brain has one primary job: keep you safe.

It’s been this way since the beginning. Imagine the caveman scanning the horizon — his anxious thoughts weren’t flaws, they were survival. What if we don’t find food? What if the fire goes out? What if a predator is near? That worry is what drove him to hunt, to gather, to keep his family alive.

And today, your brain is still beautifully conditioned to protect you. It alerts you when someone’s walking too close behind, when the sky is turning before a storm, when your hand is near the flame. Protection is its masterpiece. Survival is its art.

The trouble is when this same protective system barks at you in moments that aren’t life or death. You’ll never figure this out. You always quit. You’re going to fail. That’s not a predator — that’s a loop.

Neuroscience calls these feedback loops. Each thought and reaction is a little road your neurons have traveled before. The more you repeat it, the smoother and faster the road gets. “Neurons that fire together wire together.”

But here’s the grace: just as loops can be built, they can be rewired. With practice, you can teach your neurons to separate real danger from imagined failure. With compassion, you can build new routes — calmer, kinder ones — until they become the default.

Your nervous system doesn’t need shame. It needs a new map.

A Practice for the Detour

When you feel lost or spiraling:

Steady your state. Notice if you’re reliving the past or fantasizing a future disaster. In the present moment, you’re safe.
Pause the reaction. Whisper: “I see you. It’s okay. I’ll come back to this later.”
Journal the reroute. Write down a neutral observation — “This tree is gorgeous, it’s been grounded for years.” With time, this simple act rewires your brain toward presence instead of panic.