What if it hadn't rained at Agincourt in 1415 and the French had, as expected, won the day? What if one of Napoleon's most trusted commanders had had a handful of nails to spike Wellington's guns with at Waterloo in 1815, providing his emperor with victory?
I read Erik Durschmied's book The Hinge Factor several years ago but his thoughtful and absorbing and indeed amusing meditation on what might have been have stuck in my mind because there are scores of hinge factors in my own pretzel-shaped path through life.
Of course, in a life that has been almost too full of movement and changes it's inevitable that there were many crucial moments which decided my future, a future which could have gone either way.
Perhaps it's pointless to reflect on what's past because, as the old saying goes, "You can't step into the same river twice!" --- to which a good friend added, "... but you can sure step into the same pile of shit more than once!"
I've certainly stepped into the same pile more than once and some of my bad decisions and missed opportunities - bad decisions that could not be put right and golden opportunities that once rejected were never offered again - were as monumental in their consequences as the lack of a handful of nails. Not so much chance but certainly stupidity - my own stupidity - has been a big factor in my life ☺
What were the hinge factors in your life?
