An individual life is an improvisation in which circumstances and chance help determine the trajectory. While there are common patterns in life, it would be impossible for any person to make it from the beginning to the end of life without an unplanned event sending them in a new direction. There is even some research that suggests that itâs these unexpected turns, and not any plan, that most define a personâs life and can lead to periods of growth. One wrench thrown into the machine can be more significant than all the gears of planned action combined.