Thursday, January 27, 2011

Tipping Point = Crossroad to the Future

This morning my husband and I found out via a feed from our local newspaper that the company he has worked at for nearly 38 years is going to be sold. We really don’t know much more at this point other than the fact there is no buyer being announced at this time, and the future of the more than 800 employees is up in the air. This could be a tipping-point for my husband.


What is a tipping-point? Basically it is the turning point⎯the point at which everything changes for better or worse. For my husband, it may be the point at which he decides what the next stage of his life might be. Fortunately for us, he could retire. Retirement is that carrot we all look forward to during our “working” lives. But is he ready? Because he is staring at a tipping-point right this very day, there are a lot of questions that must be answered. It could be considered an enviable and wonderful position to be in.


There are many stages one might look at when reaching a crossroads. Here are a few to consider:

Fear: What does this mean? Anxiety, apprehension and concern are all forms of fear and natural. The sooner you move off fear and start figuring a few things out the better…

Confusion: I don’t have all the information I need! So, hop to it and start determining what your best resources for information are…

Doubt: Is this the right time to have to make a decision like this? There may never be a right time for anything. Sometimes other factors out of our control come into play and that’s life. It is up to you to get all the facts, tackle your fear and confusion and move on…

Hope: Hope! There are opportunities at every crossroad. There are no wrong decisions when you have all the information spread out before you and you make your decisions based on what is known at that particular time...

Wonder: Yeah, I wonder what the heck I’m gonna do. Let your mind settle here for a time, take the information you have and allow yourself to dream of what each direction might look like.

So husband dear, it is what it is⎯move on and get over it baby⎯but he already knows that. He is the person who has taught me the most about that very fact. He is going to be just fine and we are going to be just fine. I look forward to watching him take the next step in his life, whatever it may be. There are opportunities at every crossroad we come to as we head down the paths of our lives tipping-point to tipping-point...

So how are you going to approach your next crossroad dear reader?

© Copyright 2011 Michelle Clark