DEFINING MOMENTS!
A workshop to plan your next move.
Life is a fickle thing!
John Lennon said, “Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans.” I’m confident he wasn’t planning to be shot and killed on December 8th, 1980. In fact, by all accounts, he had other plans.
As our lives unfold, we often face the unexpected. For example, the unpredicted loss of a loved one, an unforeseen employment termination, or the unplanned dissolution of a marriage can bring overwhelming pain and uncertainty.
There are also serendipitous events where we might feel lucky or blessed. But, on the other hand, even good things can catch us off guard and bring uninvited stress. For instance, many years ago, I sought a consulting role when I was offered full-time employment.
Someone saw something in me that I wasn’t seeing in myself.
So, while I accepted the position, I felt unprepared for the new assignment. And I experienced high levels of disorder. Nevertheless, it turned out to be profoundly satisfying work and a period of heightened personal growth.
I recognize that some people handle change well; most struggle with it. However, the more confident one becomes in determining who they are, honing their skills, and establishing their purpose, the more prepared they are to navigate unchartered waters.
These highs and lows in the human experience create Defining Moments. A defining moment is an event in your life that urges you to make a decision that will likely alter your trajectory or causes fundamental changes in who you become.
We seldom remain the same when we encounter a Defining Moment. Mainly, we will soar or crash. I have experienced both in my life, and I have witnessed the same things in others. Anyone is rarely unaffected by an authentic defining moment.
It’s never about what happens.
It’s about what happens next!
We can not control everything that happens, but we can control our response to what happens. It’s not always easy to face our challenges, but it’s always more valuable to use defining moments to elevate ourselves than be crushed by them.
A defining moment is stimulating and demands a response.
“Between stimulus and response is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
~Viktor E. Frankl, a Neurologist, Psychologist, and Holocaust survivor
