Presentation: Winding Roads - Recognizing the Power of Immersive Interest and Personal Growth

Presentation: Winding Roads – Recognizing the Power of Immersive Interest and Personal Growth

By Robin Landals-Hill

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Audience Fit

This session is designed for anyone who has experienced change, transition, or reinvention and has struggled with the belief that starting over means failure. It is especially relevant for individuals navigating career pivots, life disruptions, personal growth seasons, or non-linear paths who want to better understand how their experiences connect and contribute to long-term success.

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Purpose of the Session

Many people move through life believing that progress should be linear and that consistency looks like staying on one path. When interests shift or circumstances change, this belief often leads to self-doubt, shame, or the feeling of being “behind.” This session introduces Immersive Interest as a way to reframe wandering focus and repeated beginnings as meaningful learning cycles rather than setbacks. Participants are guided to see how deep periods of engagement leave lasting skills and insight that carry forward, even when direction changes.

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Abstract

Life rarely unfolds in a straight line. Many people find themselves deeply engaged in one pursuit, only to feel their interest fade and a new direction emerge—often accompanied by self-judgment or the belief that they have failed to commit. This presentation explores Immersive Interest as a framework for understanding growth through cycles of deep focus followed by natural transition. Through reflective storytelling and practical insight, participants learn how periods of immersion build transferable skills—“pearls” of learning—that resurface across careers, roles, and life stages. Rather than viewing change as starting over, this session invites participants to recognize continuity in their learning and trust that even winding paths are leading somewhere meaningful. The session offers reassurance, clarity, and a new lens for understanding personal and professional evolution.

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Key Topics Covered

• Reframing starting over as growth rather than failure

• Understanding immersive interest and wandering focus

• Recognizing transferable learning across life and career transitions

• Letting go of shame tied to non-linear paths

• Building confidence in personal growth that doesn’t follow a straight line

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Learning Outcomes

Participants will:

• Reframe past “false starts” as meaningful learning experiences

• Identify transferable skills gained through immersive periods

• Gain language to explain non-linear growth with confidence

• Develop compassion for their own pace and process

• Leave with reassurance that their experiences fit together in purposeful ways

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Format: Reflective presentation with storytelling, guided reflection, and audience connection

Audience: General audience, professionals, leaders, adult learners, and individuals navigating change.