Life is lived in chapters. You can’t live chapter three until you’ve lived chapters one and two. Steppingstones are the events that bookmark the chapters of your life. They are turning points. They are places where you pause, take a breath, look around, and confirm, “My life will never be the same.”

Sometimes steppingstones are painful and difficult to accept. You feel as if you’d rather have head lice. But often, through hindsight, you realize that what seemed to be a curse was actually a blessing. Did getting fired force you to discover a fulfilling career?

Sometimes steppingstones are magical moments that help you discover meaning in your life. Did that first shy kiss under the moonlight spark a flame that roared to kindle true love?

Directions:

  1. List your steppingstones. For instance, moves, homes, jobs, illness, births, deaths, marriages, divorces, accomplishments, failures, trips, celebrations.
  2. Assign a date to each steppingstone.
  3. Select one. Close your eyes and recall sights, sounds, aromas, feelings, people, places, and things you associate with this steppingstone
  4. How did your steppingstone change you? How did it influence the rest of your life?
  5. Sit in front of your keyboard and start to write. Don’t think. Just write. Your story will take on a life of its own.
  6. Select another steppingstone and repeat the process.