Embrace (Inner) Game-Changing Moments

game-changing adj.

1. Completely?changing?the?way?that?something?is?done,?thought?about,?or?made

2. Critical and having the potential to alter the overall outcome.

You might not have realized it, but that time you pissed your pants on that blind date and/or lost your job at McDonald?s for stealing Shamrock Shake mix weren?t entirely for naught. Sure, inheriting your dead uncle?s mansion and scoring a date with Alessandra Ambrosio might seem like more positively life-altering moments. In order to grow as men, however, we must embrace game-changing moments both good and bad.

Change your game

?Game-changing? is a term often used in politics and business, but it applies just as well to life-altering moments in one?s life. The iPod was game-changing in terms of technology just as you finding your girlfriend in the locker room with the varsity lacrosse goalie is game-changing in terms of your life. All of us experience moments that alter the course of our lives on a regular basis. What we choose to do at these moments reflects our level of confidence and shapes who we are as individuals and who we will become.

Imagine you?re unemployed (and if you are, my condolences for our shitty economy.) You look for a job day in and day out, sending in resumes by the boatload. One day you hear back from a company you?re dying to work for and you go in for an interview. After waiting in anticipation for two weeks, eating nothing but ramen and flat Mr. Pibb, you get a call back saying you didn?t get the job. If you?re a quitter and lack confidence, you might send a snarky email and lie in bed thinking about how much of a loser you are. If you?re confident, you?ll thank the company for the interview and keep pounding the pavement until you score a job. What you do in moments like this can totally change your life and the way you feel about yourself.

Game-changing moments, both good and bad, are moments that affect who we are, how we do things and how we feel about ourselves. Finding out you didn?t get into law school or being told you have a unibrow don?t have to be completely terrible moments. You can?t succeed without failing. It?s how we learn. If you?re confident and don?t get down on yourself, seemingly horrible situations can turn into positive learning experiences (whether you shave the unibrow or choose to flaunt it.)

Consider all the game-changing moments in your life. Whether you lose the girl of your dreams or score a sweet job mopping the floor at an adult theater, you?ll learn something and be forever changed. No matter what happens, do your best to look at every life-altering experience from a positive perspective. If you?re a quitter, get ready for plenty more awful moments to head your way. If you?re confident, you?ll grow, succeed and only become more confident as a result. Who knew losing your job for upper-decking in the employee bathroom could be so eye-opening?