You knew it was true, the feeling that you were going in circles. Turns out we are all prone to re-trace our steps and circle back on ourselves when we lack reference points. I am reminded of hearing the same suggestion brought annually by the newest board members of an arts organization. They all saw there was a flaw in the membership program. The new board member (without prompting from others or conspiracy) made the identical suggestion each year. You could almost hear a chuckle in the room from the veteran board members. It took a few years for the ‘new’ members to become the majority on the board and the suggestion was adopted. Turned out to be a smashing success. Just took a few trips around the calendar before enough people became comfortable with not repeating the old course.

Great article about a human navigation in the wilderness: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/science/21circles.html