2. Crossroads: The Moment Everything Can Change
For years, I thought crossroads were the big moments in life.
Changing careers.
Selling a business.
Ending a relationship.
Losing someone you love.
Those are the moments around which I built my coaching practice. I watched people arrive at these turning points, life shaking them by the shoulders until they woke up to something new.
Then I realized something.
Life doesn’t only shake us awake in the big moments.
It’s trying to wake us up every day.
This morning, my partner left early for a bike ride.
Almost instantly, a thought appeared.
Sure… leave me with all the work.
There it was—bitter on my tongue, my body tightening before I noticed I believed the story.
There I was, playing the victim.
In that moment, I became aware.
I realized I was at a crossroads.
Not because my partner had left.
Because life was inviting me to see what I hadn’t seen before.
Did I want to keep walking the familiar road of resentment?
Or was I willing to open my eyes to something new?
I have become a student of love.
More than being right, I want to bring more love into my life.
So I waited.
Instead of arguing with my thought or pretending I wasn’t irritated, I asked myself,
What would a loving thought be?
I didn’t force an answer.
I waited.
Then it came.
I could simply make a kind request for help.
And that’s what I did.
Nothing about the morning had changed.
My partner hadn’t changed.
The chores hadn’t changed.
What changed was my awareness.
Once I saw the story I was telling myself, I was free to choose whether I kept walking that road.
In a matter of moments, I went from resentment to peace.
Maybe that’s what a crossroads really is.
Not life testing us.
Life is waking us up.
And maybe it doesn’t need dramatic moments to do it.
Maybe every irritation…
Every disappointment…
Every assumption…
Every story I tell myself…
Is life gently tapping me on the shoulder, asking,
Are you ready to wake up?
Each one is an invitation.
Each one is a crossroads.
Maybe the path to a different life isn’t found by waiting for the next awakening.
Maybe it’s found in the next moment I become aware enough to choose another road.
What is life trying to wake you up to right now?
If you like this blog, you can read more about a real crossroads. https://www.annascott.co/blog/when-your-life-looks-right-but-feels-wrong
