Pivot points are the turning points in your life, the “Forks in the Road.” These pivot points can be big or small but they are the events, experiences, or insights that have shaped your life and its direction.
Pivot points can be as big as getting married, changing careers or a natural disaster. Or they can be small but with great impact, such as reading an article that changed your thinking, seeing a beautiful landscape that made you recognize your passion for nature, or getting your first camera that lead you to a lifelong love of photography.
In addition, these pivot points can be self chosen, such as going to college or retiring, OR they can be choices others have made for you, such as your parents moving to a new city or losing your job, OR the events can have just happened, such as an earthquake or a new wonderful neighbor moving in next door.
What have been the pivot points in your life? What events caused the forks in the road? Which ones had lasting impact? Which ones were positive? Which ones were negative? Which seemed negative, but had surprising results?
Pick one pivot point and write about it.
Begin by grounding yourself in concrete details. Where are you? Who are you with? What are you wearing? Focus on your senses: I see …, I hear …, I smell …, I feel …, I taste …. Are there things you don’t remember? Write what you don’t remember. That can be as revealing as what you do.
Why was this point important or memorable?
What did you learn?
Pivots often have an ending followed by a beginning. What ended, what began?
How did you feel about the pivot when it happened? Now?
You can read about one of my pivot points here and the aha moment I had when I wrote about it.
Happy Writing,
Melanie
P.S. Interested in learning more about the power of your stories to create a life of resilience, connection, and meaning when you face these pivots? Check out my Write Into Joy workshops to learn how to build resilience and joy through journaling & reflecting. Click here to see a list of upcoming workshops.