A sailboat can’t sail straight into the wind. It zigzags and still arrives. Indirect isn’t the same as lost.

Some destinations cannot be reached by pointing at them, and the boat that tacks is not confused about where it is going. Each leg looks like it is heading somewhere else, and together they make progress the direct route could not. Routes that look inefficient from above are sometimes the only ones available.

If your path looks nothing like a straight line, check whether it is moving you closer rather than whether it looks impressive. A job that is not the job, a course that is not the subject, a year that was not the plan. Keep the heading and let the route take whatever shape it needs.