Could you define a truly pivotal moment in your life and offer advice on how your take on it could help others?

I came from an extremely dysfunctional family - abuse of every kind, alcohol and drug addiction, mental illness, favoritism.





After moving out at 17, I spent 8 more years interacting with my family and found my life was just as crazy as it had been while living at home. I moved across country and took a few years off . Then, again tried to reconcile, hoping my siblings would accept me and had stopped their self-destructive ways. They hadn't and I found myself being pigeon-holed by the gist of the abuse I had suffered as a kid all over again. My label and role within the family hadn't changed.





I made the decision to turn my back once more and for good. That was 20 years ago and I have never regretted it.Could you define a truly pivotal moment in your life and offer advice on how your take on it could help others?
so true. sometimes, we truly have to give the care of our loved ones over to God.





Bless you! Report Abuse
Could you define a truly pivotal moment in your life and offer advice on how your take on it could help others?
Due to many life challenges (that I do not want to describe here) I was on a downward spiral, until I hit the bottom, where the next step might have been my last. I then realized that I was living my life for other people, because of what others thought or may think. The good news about hitting the bottom and surviving is the only way you can go is up. I starting learning about myself, how to love myself, how to work on the issues that were buried within me and release the pain. It took some time and the support of other people but I kept at it until I could truly love myself. Once I could do this, I could then love others.


I have learned that life is here to experience different things, to learn from those experiences, to grow and to love.
While lying on my back in a hospital bed two years ago I vowed to re-evaluate my life and finish the many unfinished projects I had started. Of course this occurred after finding out that the combination of pneumonia, kidney infection and a growth on my small intestine had afforded me a 60/40 chance to live. My three week stay at the medical motel (and untold numbers of testing/blood-draws, etc.) has caused me to offer sage advice to others today. It is common for me to say ';Don't put off any travel plans, goals or other objectives because tomorrow is never promised to you.';
Years ago after doing the best I could, I turned my computer off with the floppy in it, told my boss where he could shove this job, grabbed my coat and walked out on a job because I was yelled at by an arrogent associate in front of coworkers. Normally you try not to quit a job before you get another one, but I figured this job wasn't worth staying in and being treated less than I'd treat myself-and it was near bonus time. A coworker said to me-';Why are you quitting now? We'll get bonuses in a few months.'; Answer: ';For that bonus to pay for my ulcer? My health's more important.';





For me, doing that was pivotal because it took courage and guts to walk out, but I had enough self-confidence and a clear conscience. Told myself I'd never work in a brokerage house again.





Advice-Build up enough self-confidence, do the best job you can, be as pleasant to your coworkers as possible, even the obnoxious ones, and do not tolerate anyone who yells at you or talks down to you-be they Manager or Maintenance. I didn't take it up with HR because I didn't want to work there any longer, not even to be transferred.






im 17 and i changed schools freshman year from a public school where my past was all people saw to a big private school where people could see me for who i was and not who i used to be when i was self concious and had extremely low self esteem, because they did not even know the old me.. it just made me grow as a person and not hold onto what i thought i had to be, it showed me i had potential to do more. i felt so inferior to those kids at my old school but now i know theres a lot more out in the world, and you cant let other people hold you in a certain category forever.





im still young but i think this was the biggest pivotal moment so far.