This defining moment impacted my identity – who I am.
Both of these strengths played a life-changing role for me. One of the character strengths at play was perseverance (a mid-level strength for me, but one I can bring forth powerfully when I need to), and another strength was hope (one of my signature strengths which drives most of what I do in life). Just one more” – was a defining moment for me.
That moment – my kicking the stone and deciding, “Don’t give up just yet. The evening and coffee shifted into high gear and a wonderful connection ensued. And so, as we walked to the car, I kicked a stone into the bushes and with my chin at my chest, I mumbled, “Um, do you want to go get some coffee or something?” She replied, “Sure!” I was flabbergasted. It was a small but persistent thought: “Give it one more try.” I listened to that thought. I guess I blew it.”īut, among the negativity, I had another thought floating around in my mind. I’ll never go out with this beautiful woman again,” and I ruminated, “All my efforts to find the courage to ask her out in the first place are down the drain. I had many thoughts swirling around as I held the door for my date: “This is it. After a stagnant and uncomfortable dinner, we walked out of the Mexican restaurant together. Taking time to reflect and focus on these moments can improve your life.Ĭonsider this first date I had 14 years ago. We all have moments in our lives that can be considered “defining moments”– times when a certain thing happened that changed our life trajectory.