What is your pivotal moment?

It’s uncomfortably hot and stuffy.

The aircon blasting onto my left shoulder isn’t helping.

We’ve been stuck on the tarmac for an hour. We missed our flight slot due to people boarding late and now everyone is getting fidgety.

I drown out the hubbub of screaming babies, excited teenagers and grumbling retirees with my noise cancelling headphones. A must have when traveling.

I have a week off work and decided to get one last dose of sunshine before the Winter sets in.

Taking a trip has always been a catalyst for contemplation. A time to take stock of my life and ask myself some questions. Am I on the right track? Do I have my priorities straight?

Strategise, plan and digest.

I’ve been thinking about pivotal moments a lot recently. Moments where you can look back and determine how certain decisions changed the course of your life.

(One of my goals is to get to the stage where I can recognise these pivotal moments in real time).

Planning the video brought up a lot of memories which had been dormant for a long time.

I touch on three points in the video which I would like to highlight here and which I will expand on in the future

• The power of loneliness

• The importance of your environment

• The relationship which you have with yourself

These three things are not separate. They mesh together and compliment each other.

But it all starts with the self.

The way we treat ourselves, as in the way we talk to ourselves. The stories we construct around experiences and events affect how we perceive our own environment. These stories can exacerbate or alleviate our own sense of loneliness.

"The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe.” Albert Einstein

This quote has always resonated with me. It is not a single decision that we make and then stick by it no matter what. This is a decision that I find myself making everyday.

When things go wrong It’s very easy to slip into the mindset that the universe is conspiring against us.

This quote and others like it act as a useful pattern interrupt to snap me out of catastrophising. It’s a reminder that the world is actually, on the whole, a pretty friendly place and I’m just having a bad day.

They are coming through the cabin and I have to put my table up and stow my bag under the seat in front of me. 4 and half hours till touchdown.

Feel free to hit reply and tell me what one of your pivotal moments has been.

I’d love to hear from you.

See you then.

Take care.