Throughout our life opportunity presents itself, opportunities to direct/sculpt/create our life. It comes in the form of choices. These particular choices are not your ordinary choices. These are the choices that change your life forever. When we come face to face with a defining moment, we are making defining choices. These are choices that will alter the course of our life. For good or bad, we are determining the course of the rest of our life.

If you think back, the defining moments will reveal themselves. You know which ones they are. Sometimes the moment is so etched in our mind that we remember it down to the tiniest of details. We remember the two choices that we were presented with and even the feelings that we had, and then we make what seems like such an inconsequential decision, but it alters our life forever. If we only knew the power that we held in that moment. Defining moments seem almost magical. They find us. We do not find them.

Unfortunately, they do not always find us when we are in the best frame of mind to be making defining, life-altering choices.

So the question is how do we alter the course if we have made a bad choice in a defining moment, or to put ourselves in the best place to make good future choices? Defining moments are internal choices. We make them with our heart, not necessarily our instincts, but our heart based on everything that has brought us to this place today and what we have come to know and believe, and or fear up to this very point. That is the problem with defining moments. We are not always in the healthiest of places when we must make them. An important thing to note about defining moments is that while they do alter the course of our life and define our lives from that point on, we do have the power to change that course. It may not be in the magic of a defining moment, but it is possible.

Think back to the choice you made and who you were when you made it. That is where our attention must be focused. The person we were when we made the choice. Who was she? What did she think? What did she believe? What did she do daily? The defining moment is changed when we see the person who made the choice and begin to do things differently than she did. Was she selfish? If so, then do things that require giving. Was she fearful? If so, then do things that require being brave. When you change the person who made the choice, you will create a person who makes different choices. Many times we hear that knowing is half the battle. Yes, but it is not the whole battle. The rest of the battle comes when we change what we think and do daily. Consistency is key. Be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking that just because you see the error in the choice you made that that makes you changed. That can be a trap making you think that you are entirely different. You are not truly there until you are consciously changing the day to day choices. Remember, it’s the day to day choices and thoughts that ultimately lead us to being the type of person who makes our defining moment choices. True change does not come until you consciously and consistently living a different daily life. We cannot change history, but we can create a new future. -Topaz