The Power Of Moments

One moment at a time is all it took to create the life that we currently have. And it’s what it will take to create the life we want. It only takes a moment to make that final decision, a moment to rethink a thought or the words we are about to speak.

The decision to be a solution or a nuisance, flee or fight, to argue or be understanding and to push back or be a pushover is made in a moment.

The decisions to retrain, start a business, follow your passion, do something new or walk away from the wrong patterns of behaviour all take moments.

Some people are serving life sentences because in one moment, they made the wrong choice or said the wrong thing that caused a situation to escalate.

You’re one moment away from asking for that opportunity or connecting with someone to change their life or perhaps yours.

Life is made up of all the different moments that we have embraced or shied away from. 

I’ve had moments when I spoke up and made a useful business or personal connection. There have been other moments when I’ve been within touching distance of making a connection but I let the moment pass.

Recently, in an airport waiting area, I sat across a well-known public speaker. Our eyes met. I knew I could have easily made a connection but I let the moment pass; and we sat there, occasionally making polite eye contacts until we had to board our respective flights.

On a good day, I would have introduced myself and talk about his work. Despite having that nudge to seize the moment, I chose not to. What is the true cost of missing that moment? I don’t know. It could be nothing but it could also be significant.

We all have an inner voice that is authentic, true and genuine and we hear the voice say: pause, don’t, do, speak, go, stop, change, look, ask, or pray.

On some of my commutes, I would hear that voice instruct me to take a different route. When I listen, my journey may seem to be ordinary or slightly longer and I wonder if I made the right decision. At other times, I don’t listen and stay on my planned route and end up in a three to four-hour traffic jam.

If you’ve ever been in an accident or got a ticket from the police, you will often recall that you had a moment when you could have avoided the accident or incident – a moment when you thought not to join the road or you thought to look again, a moment when you chose to beat a traffic light about to turn red or overtake another car.

Too many times we ignore that voice which is so easy to do. We have only a few moments to follow the instruction we hear or to take a chance and if we miss the moment, the likelihood is that we talk ourselves out of taking the right action.

We miss the window so easily because it’s so small that it can be measured in milli-seconds of hesitation.

Many windows of opportunities that we miss are due to fear, self-doubt and nervousness about the future or what people will think.

This fear can sometimes disguise itself as procrastination where we tell ourselves we will come back to it. I love the quote from Abraham Maslow which says that, “In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety.” 

As you start your week, don’t miss the moments. Make a decision before the hesitation gains ground. The life you want will be created only when you make the most of your moments.

Thanks for reading and sharing my post. Have a great week.