Earlier this week, I had it. That moment. Oprah calls it an Aha Moment but that just makes me think of 80s music videos. I always associate the exclamation "Eureka!" with it. I guess I saw too many wacky doctor/insane inventor movies from the 50s or something. But I had that big revelation. You know the one. Or maybe you don't. The one where you think you've finally figured out what you're meant to do.

I won't bore you with the lengthy details and it's probably too personal to truly mean as much to others as it did to me. In a nutshell, mine is telling stories. Sounds simple enough but I've finally realized that it's more than just writing. It's using those words to reach out to others and affect them in some way, maybe to inspire to act, educate or make aware or simply to comfort, encourage and support. Whatever the purpose and mission at that moment, but to somehow make an impact.

I began to wonder - what took me so long? I've been hanging around on this Earth for 39+ years and I'm just now figuring out what I should be doing. Where have I been and why the long wait? And then I remembered, aah, yes. Distractions. Lots of them. All over the place. Messages telling you from every direction 'make a living,' but not really encouraging to 'make a life.'

Of course, then I also began to wonder how many of us don't actually figure out what our real purpose is. What if I hadn't taken the current path I'm traveling, would I have still had this ephiphany or would I be moving in circles that might pay my bills but not really deliver in the personal joy department?

The good news is I'm learning more and more every day to live in the present and walk slowly toward the future without skipping too far ahead or worse yet, one of my biggest hang-ups, hijacking myself in the past. It's done me no good, and these past few years have shown me the value of adaptability and moving with the flow of life, not against it. Thankfully, this was a lesson I'd learned long before finding myself without a full-time job and taking inventory of a lot of things.

Have you experienced your 'eureka!' moment and if so, what was that like for you? And if you feel like you haven't, what do you think may be holding you back?