I had a promising career at the World Bank when a friend invited me on a bike ride.

1.5 years later, I had to make a big decision: a tax-free career at the World Bank or a life as a poor professional cyclist.

Everyone around me said: "No question, Monika, definitely the tax-free career." But I wanted to know what it was like to be a professional cyclist. So I quit my job and moved back to Germany to ride in the Bundesliga.

I lasted three months.

Only to realize in a very short time that it wasn't what I wanted at all. At the time, I felt like a huge failure. I had just given up something big (my career) to follow my dreams - at least that's what I thought. Only to realize that it wasn't for me. In that moment, I felt lost.

Today, 15 years later, I am so glad that I made that decision and found out that it wasn't for me. Because regretting not having done something is much harder than finding out that it was the wrong path. I have realized that even so-called dead ends help me to learn more about myself and therefore more about what I really want. And only when you know yourself can you set fulfilling goals.

So go out, try everything. And if it's not for you, turn around and move on!

Looking back, I see that this moment was not only the career decision I made, but also how I approached challenges. When I speak to groups today, I always remind people that the fear of making the wrong decision has much less impact than not making a decision.