I assume that for whoever made this charming, intensely aesthetically pleasing, yet grossly misguided (*ahem* will be here all week, actually every week, since “here” in this case is the internet) graphic, getting lost is not an everyday occurrence. I’ve heard people utter similarly inane platitudes like, “getting lost is part of the journey,” or, “I try to get lost at least once in every new place I visit.” To me, this is the same as listening to someone who makes weight gain a goal lament the fact that they are thin on accident. The entropy of my life seems to necessitate getting lost almost every place I go by myself, either new or familiar.

In case these people are right, though, and the skill of getting lost is inherent to traveling well, I decided somewhat purposefully to practice the art. I went to a Starbucks that I have been to approximately once a week for forever, but upon challenging myself with a different route and not being able to find it for 10 minutes, I drove in a circle three times and went home.

Usually, getting lost for me is just a matter of trying to be clever and go a different way to a place I’ve been hundreds of times before. There I am, thinking I’m invincible, 20 minutes late to my weekly hair appointment because I think I can do anything I set my mind to.

Living in Colorado doesn’t do anything to help me stand on my own two feet when it comes to navigation. The mountains run perfectly north to south across the entirety of the state. Drop me in any other place in the world–or, God forbid, a city with buildings that block out the sun–and I’m hopeless.

In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell posits that 10,000 hours in a given field makes an individual into an expert. Safe to say, I’m an expert at getting lost. However, despite any apparent bitterness on my part, getting lost is not the worst thing that could happen to someone. It’s a great excuse for not being somewhere else, and an even better one for being late. Once you’re lost, any agenda goes out the window, and the point becomes simply to stay alive and maybe at some point make it back to where you started.

If the random quote below, animated by a very talented designer, holds any truth, then I am MUCH of an explorer, every single day of my life, except for when I’m on my way to the bathroom. That’s one time I never get lost.

Thanks to wordsoverpixels.com for the visual inspiration.