A turning point is not an external change, although it may or may not include one. It is the inner change, expansion, or new perspective on yourself and on life that makes it a true turning point.
Give up hope and keep the faith
Turning points always involve a profound letting go of what no longer works, often of something you have been invested in. The simplest way I know how to describe this process is: “Give up hope and keep the faith.”
Give up hope of whatever it was you believed was so important that it kept you doing or being what was no longer good for you. But keep the faith that you will still be okay. The deepest part of you will always be okay. You just need to discover, rediscover, or come back to that essence of you and know that it is real.
Of course, change, and especially inner change, is not easy for most of us. Even remembering who you really are may feel like too big a risk. This is why we so often need the push or pull of a catalyst to open to our new possibilities.
Can you accept reality?
Once you have let go of whatever keeps you holding on to a past that doesn’t work for you, you can begin to open your mind and heart to a bigger picture of who and what you truly are and can become.
You can also take the very crucial step of accepting the present reality, whether it seems positive or negative, and even if it seems to have destroyed your iife. Can you honour the change for what it is? You don’t have to like it. But it is only when you accept where you are that you can begin to move to where you want to be.
The catalyst, which you may have seen as a misfortune, can now begin to take its place as a messenger. Reading the writing on the wall, you can follow the clues to your new reality. Your new understanding becomes your turning point.
Soul esteem
One of the things that may be stopping you from opening up and moving on is simple insecurity. Most people have it. Am I aspiring too high? Will I be shot down? Can I do it? Is there someone else who could do it better?
So it helps to know that turning points and new beginnings do not need to depend on self esteem but on something that goes beyond self esteem. I call it “soul esteem.”
Soul esteem means honouring your heart and soul, rather than having faith in your own personal abilities and value alone. It is the knowledge that if your heart and soul are whispering you will listen, and you will not wonder if you are worthy, nor count the cost. You will simply follow where they lead you.
I believe this is the secret of the creative success of most inspired people. Often their self esteem is low. It is the soul esteem that sets them on their path and keeps them there no matter what the cost and how many doubts plague them.
Certainly it has been so for me, particularly when I was young and hopelessly unsure of myself. That is how I know about soul esteem. If you look back on your own life, you may see that this is just as true of you.
Stepping forward
Even a turning point is not a guarantee. You still need to step forward, and build it into a new way of being or a new life. Only then can you find the full joy of new beginnings.
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