A Chance to Pivot

I’ve learned over the past year, the true reality that life is full of many ups and downs. We say this a lot, but until adversity strikes we don’t fully grasp it. Last year on June 6th, my position was eliminated. I’ve worked in the nonprofit sector for a few years now and the risk is always there that funding priorities will change, funding will be lost, or programs will move in a different direction. For myself and two others, the nonprofit organization was moving in an entirely different direction, and our positions were simply no longer needed. With one sentence, my world as I knew it, came abruptly crashing down.

What happened next, was a chance to PIVOT.

I believe that challenging times and hardships can allow us to fall into a deep downward spiral, or force us to rise above and pivot into something even greater. For me, I couldn’t see any other option-I had to pivot. It was easy to make the decision to pivot, but actually doing so required a tenacious drive, a willingness to never give up, and unwavering faith and belief in my greater purpose in life.

We had planned to go to Aspen to celebrate our anniversary the afternoon of June 6th, and thankfully decided to carry on with our trip. The week we spent there allowed me to begin to find myself again. I also came to the unsettling fact that I had become complacent in many areas of my life. Although I strived to be Going Further, I certainly wasn’t to my full potential. I found comfort in the solidarity of being surrounded by the Aspen trees, and being able to look at the Maroon Bells-my one true favorite place in Colorado. Dreams were reawakened, aspirations became anew, and I vowed to myself to never again become complacent with my life.

I didn’t just experience hard days, I experienced many hard months. Along the way though, I became the Demie I always wanted to be. I have since found where I was meant to land, at a different nonprofit organization in a role that I really truly wanted.

I have learned a lot over the past year, most importantly that we must keep going. If we don’t actively choose to do so, life will still continue moving forward. I think my fear has always been that life will pass me by, and that I won’t have accomplished everything that I wanted to do, or strived to achieve my wildest dreams in the slightest. I’ve said it before, but that is ultimately what Going Further is all about.

It is my promise that Going Further will always be a place of authenticity, realness, and inspiration.

In the Spirit of Adventure,

Demie