A guided lesson for readers aged eight and up. The people and places are made up. The pictures explain ideas. They don’t predict anyone’s life.
Many paths
Paths and choices
Your choices shape where a life can go. Good and bad luck, which nobody chooses, shape it too.
First we watch one whole life in half a minute. Then we go on a hike with Rio and his dad.
Picture: A single dot marks the beginning of a life.
One of many paths
- Age 0 Sam is born.
- Age 6 His parents sign him up for choir.
- Age 10 He picks the guitar.
- Age 14 He starts a band with two friends.
- Age 16 The three bandmates record a first song.
- Age 16 Both friends quit, and he is on his own.
- Age 17 He forms a new band with three others.
- Age 18 Luckily, a radio DJ plays one of his songs.
- Age 20 A record company offers the band a deal.
- Age 22 He goes on a world tour.
- Age 24 Drinking and drugs take over, and his shows fall apart.
- Age 25 The record company ends the deal, and he loses his flat.
- Age 26 He asks for help, and a friend lets him stay.
- Age 30 He teaches guitar and writes new songs.
- Age 33 He has two great kids.
- Age 36 He teaches music at the local school.
- Age 41 He watches his daughter sing on stage.
- Many paths are still ahead.
In the lesson, you can change one of Sam’s choices and watch his path change.
Picture: The map shows one life along a line of ages, from birth to age 41. The path grows one fork at a time. At every fork, gray lines show the choices Sam didn’t make. Luck lifts the path, and setbacks push it down. Light green paths carry on past age 41.
Choices add up.
Choir led Sam to the guitar. The guitar led to a band, and the band recorded a song. Luck lifted his path, and a hard year pushed it down. Some things were not his choice. Now let’s look at choices over just a few days.
Picture: The map shows Sam’s whole path with three labels. “Picks guitar” is labelled His choice. “A DJ plays the song” is labelled Luck. “The band splits” is labelled Not his choice.
The hike
Rio makes a plan.
Rio and his dad are getting ready for a big hike. They study the map. Then they pack snacks, jackets and a bottle of water each.
Mirror Lake is a long way up. Nobody gets there in one jump. It’s one small step after another.
Picture: A trail map shows the trail climbing from the trailhead through a forest, past a stream and up a ridge to Mirror Lake. Rio and his dad wait at the trailhead with full water bottles.
Half the water is gone.
Partway up, Rio checks his bottle. Half the water is gone already. The lake is still far away.
Picture: The walkers climb to the big rock. Their water bottles are half full, and the lake is still far away.
What should they do?
- Keep going to the lake
- They’d reach the lake with almost no water for the long walk home. On a hot day, that’s dangerous. Dad says, “The lake isn’t going anywhere. Let’s turn back.”
- Turn back now (what they chose)
- That’s good thinking. The other half of the water is for getting home safely.
Turning back isn’t giving up.
They walk home without seeing the lake. Rio is disappointed. So is his dad.
But they learned something for next time. They’ll bring enough water to get there and back.
Picture: The walkers return to the trailhead. The backpack gains a new card, called Water for there and back.
Carried forward: Water for there and back
Practice builds on practice.
Over the next few weeks, they take short walks near home. Each walk starts from what Rio learned on the last one.
- Reading the map He finds where they are on the map, then picks the way.
- Spotting landmarks Landmarks are things you see from far away, like a big rock.
- Resting before you’re tired They stop for a drink before their legs get heavy.
Picture: Rio and his dad stand at the trailhead. The backpack gains three cards, called Reading the map, Spotting landmarks and Resting before you’re tired.
The second try.
This time they carry more water and plan where to rest. Rio spots the big rock and the stream from the map.
They aren’t starting from zero. Everything they learned comes with them.
Picture: The walkers climb past the place where they turned back last time. They have plenty of water and reach the bridge over the stream.
Something they couldn’t control.
Last night, a storm washed part of the lake trail away. A ranger at the bridge says it’s closed. No plan can stop the rain.
Picture: Rain clouds hang over the ridge. The lake trail beyond the bridge is marked closed. A ranger stands at the bridge.
What now?
- Sneak past the sign
- The sign is there because the trail isn’t safe. Sneaking past could turn a bad day into a dangerous one.
- Go home
- Feeling disappointed is normal. Rio feels it too, and going home is allowed. But is there another good choice?
- Ask the ranger about other trails (what they chose)
- The ranger smiles. “Have you seen the Waterfall Trail? It’s shorter, and it’s open.” It’s a lucky tip they never planned for.
Plans change. You can respond.
They take the Waterfall Trail and eat lunch by the falls. Rio says it’s the best sandwich of his life. The lake can wait.
That’s called resilience. You can’t control everything, but you can find a good way forward.
Picture: The walkers follow the open Waterfall Trail and sit on the rocks beside the waterfall to eat lunch.
What was in their control?
Sort each card. Was it their choice, or something outside their control? Outside things can be bad luck or good luck.
Picture: Six cards are sorted into two groups. Their choices are how much water to pack, turning back, practising with the map and asking the ranger. The storm and a friendly ranger being there were outside their control.
Their choices: How much water to pack · Turning back · Practising with the map · Asking the ranger about other trails
Outside their control: The storm · A friendly ranger at the bridge
Explore
Choose a life path.
Start at the beginning and pick a choice at each fork. Some doors close, and some open by surprise. You can always go back.
Picture: This interactive map shows example life choices. At each fork, two or three choices branch ahead. Some close for a reason, and some lucky chances open. The chosen path turns dark green, with gray branches for choices not taken.
In the interactive version, you pick one example choice at each fork, from age three to seventy. Here are some examples by age.
- 3–6 (often chosen by family): Swimming lessons · Bedtime stories every night · Nursery with friends · Two languages at home
- 7–10: Join the chess club · Try gymnastics · Art club after school · Learn to code with a friend
- 11–14: Apply for the gifted programme · Get a maths tutor · Start a second language · Volunteer at the animal shelter
- 15–18: Take the science subjects · Get a part-time job · Focus on art · Study hard for exams
- 19–25: Go to university · Start an apprenticeship · Travel for a year · Start working
- 26–40: Change careers · Start a family · Go back to study · Move abroad
- 41–55: Learn something new · Mentor someone younger · Start a new hobby · Switch to part-time
- 56–70: Retire · Keep working a while longer · Volunteer · Travel
Choices build on each other, and surprises you don’t choose can move a life a long way. Here are two example lives.
- Join the maths club → Enter a maths tournament → Lucky break: A teacher notices your work → Take the science subjects → Lucky break: You win a scholarship → Study science at university → Do research in a lab → Setback: Your supervisor is unkind → Ask for a new supervisor → Lucky break: Your team makes a discovery
- Join a soccer team → Try out for the school team → Lucky break: A scout watches you play → Join a youth academy → Setback: A bad knee injury → Train as a physiotherapist → Coach a kids’ team
Some doors close for reasons you can’t control, like no places left, money or moving house. Others open by surprise. You can go back to any earlier choice.