The tipping point

We often think a moment of monumental change will come with fireworks, fanfare and grand insights. We wait patiently for the shift. That “one day” when everything will change.

But reality is, change happens incrementally, not all at once. The moment of change is nearly identical to all the other moments that precede it. It’s not the moment that makes the change, but rather the cumulative effect of tiny moment after tiny moment after tiny moment. Then once the change happens, it’s there for good.

When you watch water boil, you know that it doesn’t turn from still to bubbling in one instant. It’s a gradual build until suddenly — boiling. And once it’s boiling, it keeps on boiling.

It’s the same with us.

For a long time I had a vision of what my life would be like “one day.” One day I would work up the courage to show up in a professional setting as my authentic self, or become a yoga teacher, or even just master a certain yoga pose. But I wasn’t doing anything to build to that tipping point. I was just waiting. Hoping. Dreaming. As if someone or something else had the power to make these things happen.

Something shifted for me in the pandemic. Like most of us, the great pause gave me a chance to reevaluate my priorities and the life I wanted on the other side.

I woke up one day unable to keep pretending that I was satisfied with my life as it was. Commuting to a traditional office setting, my hair blowdried so much it cracked, wearing a costume and climbing a ladder toward a life I wasn’t sure I really wanted.

So I stopped waiting, and I took action.

Simple as it sounds, I started being myself. In a million tiny ways, I started showing up authentically. I shared my true feelings with my colleagues - about my fears, my dreams, my goals. I let my hair air-dry. Wore sneakers.

I finally signed up for yoga teacher training and dove into the endless depths of ancient wisdom. With each new insight, I realized how much still there was to learn. I found my voice, my confidence. I started trusting myself in a new way.

I brought a new intention to my physical yoga and meditation practice. Not just phoning it in, but taking the time to do the work. Committing to at least five minutes of meditation and yoga each day. Not just flowing through familiar poses, but taking time to break them down, do the drills, and build a new level of strength.

One of these poses was one-legged crow. An impossible-looking posture with the entire weight of your body perched at one point between your elbow and knee.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure I’d ever get there. But day after day, I did the work. The core drills, the hip mobility, the balance.

Then one day, a day not unlike all others before it, I leaned forward, trusted my strength and lifted my body onto that little square of balance. I found the tipping point.

It struck me how small this moment was. The imperceptible moment between simmering and boiling water. Just one little push, and everything changed.