What Were Your 2008 Defining Moments?

One of the key differences between people who enjoy life and those who exist through life is the way they deal with the defining moments of life. Defining moments come in all shapes and sizes. They are good, bad, and benign. A defining moment presents itself to us when we need to make a decision that will be unpopular, or even when the decision might make us a star. The difference-maker is how we allow them to affect who we are.

I talk with people every week who are facing these kind of choices, and it amazes me how two people will navigate the same type of situation so differently. But since the truth is that we become the sum total of our choices, it is important that we think through the events of life not only before we make a choice, but again, sometime later, to take stock on how our defining moments have defined us!

That is why January can be such a powerful time of year. There is nothing intrinsically magic about the month, but it carries a belief of newness, possibility, creativity, and potentiality.

So take a moment this week and look back at your defining moments of 2008. They could have been events that impacted you on a global scale, from presidential elections to world economies, to events on a smaller scale such as the loss of a job, or the establishing of a new vibrant relationship!

Think through how you dealt with, or didn't deal with those moments and events, and how you might approach them differently in the future. Did you grow because of them, or did they control you? If some of the events of 2008 were not defining you in a positive way, make sure you don't begin the self-condemning game, simply think through ways you can change your response as you move forward into 2009.Grace is the agent that can change your responses to the defining moments of life.

Generally, a change in perspective is all that is needed to transform you so that you are a person who harnesses events into positive experiences instead of allowing the circumstances of life to dictate your reality. Here are a couple ideas to get a new perspective for 09:

1. Move your furniture around. You get a new feel and flow in your surroundings. You can change any room that you feel stuck in from the boardroom to the bedroom.

2. Change your morning ritual. Everybody has a ritual, it's what you do do automatically when you get up each day. Do you go straight to the shower? Or do you go straight to the coffee maker? Do you exercise and give your body a Tai Chi stretch, or do you grumble and bounce along the walls until your eyes finally open! Whatever your ritual is, give it a tune-up, a quick change. This can change the way your start your day. Consider adding some elements to your ritual that will propel you into the day like prayer, meditation, or exercise. Maybe you need to subtract some elements from your rituals like too much caffeine, CNN or unhealthy foods.

3. Alternate your travel route. This might seem weird, but you have an ingrained travel route and by simply changing the paths you automatically take, to a different route, can positively change the way you look at problems, obstacles and life. You will see new sights, and begin telling your brain that it doesn't have to think the way it always has.

4.  "This space for your idea"   What are your change ideas? I'd love to hear them!

So, tell me what your defining moments were in 2008 and how they impacted you!

Dei Gratia,

Monty