How to pivot, recover, reinvent oneself when we stumble
Life's teaching moments
As a society we place value on our first experiences being the best and hold it up as the gold standard. From first born, to first birthdays to first commemorative milestones, we treasure them. Unknowingly, many “firsts” can also be emotionally charged and stressful, raising the bar too high on achieving an impossible threshold. As we see more of Life or rather as more of Life happens to us, we realize that change is the only constant. We discern the need to be resilient and accepting, open minded and flexible.
But often the irony of Life is that things don't always work out the way we imagined it. Many of us have faced this with careers, relationships and health - an unexpected bump that literally upended our lives. When we finally emerge from the fog of uncertainty and fear a second chance awaits us. When Life throws us a curveball, how we respond becomes our defining moment. Giving credence to the power of second chances, we need to explore our options to pivoting, reinventing ourselves and morphing a new identity. Literally picking ourselves off the floor.
Different Doorways
Inventions have been created, empires established, new continents discovered, careers flourished and relationships bloomed in the unlikeliest of circumstances, when someone has persisted and taken a second chance. A conscious rethink is needed to seize the opportunity and not drown in indecision. When we find ourselves at cross roads following a failure, a disappointment or a crisis, adopting a second chance teaches us to forgive, accept with grace, surrender to a higher power than ourselves and channelize our energy into being a better version of ourselves even when we are at our lowest.
I have personal experience of this. A devastating accident in the family upturned our lives and forced us to rethink our ways. Everything and everyone was colored by this one event. Children, work, friendships and relationships. We cried, we questioned, we lashed out and finally after exhaustion set in, we seized what we now recognize was our second chance at happiness. As a unit we all committed to the power of reinvention and today we are all much stronger and at peace because of it.
Committing to making it Work
Everything is work and second chances are no different. If anything the road is more uphill, even rockier that the first time round. Taking a leap of faith is what will get us past the difficult chasm, as we have to re- commit ourselves and persevere. This powerful story from Oprah resonated with me when I read it.
If you still are on the fence about second chances ask yourself this, has it happened that you have met someone you didn’t like at first but ended up being friends later because you realized your first impression was off-kilter? And what of songs or books or foods that have grown on you because you have given them a second try? So don't hold yourself back when second chances present themselves - they will be the doorway to a different future, one you did not factor in and maybe better than the one you have imagined.
We are stronger together
Comments