I recently had the opportunity to attend the Pennsylvania Conference for Women held in Philadelphia.  It was a wonderful opportunity to listen and interact with women from many geographic areas, in many different stages of life, experiencing many of life’s “jolts”.  I love this term for life’s challenges and changes. This term that has been used to identify life crises that we experience. I had never heard this term before,  but think it is perfect for identifying jolts like job changes, divorces, burn outs, relocation, parents passing, and many more tough changes. It is also a great term for happy events that occur in our lives like our children getting married, grandchildren coming into the family, and retirement. Jolts are life changes that make us more aware of our mortality. They signal points in our life where we experience a major shift.  Jolts can knock us for a loop! They make us look at forks on the road of life. They can derail us or can help us make positive changes as we reevaluate our values and purpose.

I have personally experienced a number of life’s jolts over the past two years – my mom passing, a hip replacement at 50, and my baby leaving for college. With all of these, I have chosen to use these as positive jolts in my life. My mom’s passing left a huge void, but allowed my sister and I to grow even closer. My hip replacement made me more aware of how important my health is and that I need to stay in shape as I age. My baby going to college allowed me to celebrate what a great young man my husband and I raised. It also allowed me to focus more of my attention on my wonderful family, friends, and clients. It has been wonderful!

Embrace life’s jolts. They help us grow and open us up to so many new challenges and blessings!