Turning points

21/11/2025 Nilson Lattari

A turning point is a moment when we make an important decision in our lives or move from one place to another for any reason. Everyone has had turning points in life. In these moments, we react when facing difficult situations and must decide whether that path will be the best choice for us. Our choices often depend on many circumstances, and these circumstances are not always pleasant for us, or sometimes there is no way to deal with them. So, we have to make choices; whether to repeat the same ones or try new possibilities.
We need to be mature to think collectively or individually; therefore, we have to wonder if we are following our own paths or those of others, like a flock.
Some people never reach their turning points and continue thinking in the same way, or just don’t want to change their lives. Changing means leaving our comfort zones and trying new ways to challenge life, and breaking free from past ties and outside influences.
Change is always good for us, as it means challenging our personal immobility, but this is difficult for some people. It’s like trying to make bears play the saxophone; however, bears usually do bear things, and no one expects other kinds of performance. Human beings are able to understand and change their life strategies, though there are those who will always behave like bears.
Imagining the future is often about utopia and impossible situations, yet some people will try to overcome them. When someone does so, they will discover many things along the way and awaken their curiosity, becoming adventurers. Others might wonder: why not?
This is the most important turning point: wondering, questioning and trying to understand whether it would be possible to make a decision under certain circumstances. In short, it’s about the journey and the unknown. When we reformulate our mindset or question if we are able to face complicated situations, maybe these situations themselves can become turning points.
If we have a goal, we must face turning points and believe that each of us has one. For dreamers, turning points mean working hard to enjoy a good life in the future – for others, or simply for themselves. For ambitious people, turning points can mean being selfish.
Our anxiety or our greed often affects others. Human beings, in a way, influence one another, and some try to take advantage of others’ turning points.
The success of others encourages us, while their failures make us afraid, and these situations show us our own turning points. Our willpower or shyness influences our decisions. If we often look back to the past seeking refuge, it shows our fear of failure. When we survive difficult situations and continue fighting, we become living proof that we have worked hard to succeed where others have failed.
Only those who reach their turning points are able to learn about life, and see both sides of the path and wonder: why not?
It’s difficult, or almost impossible, for bears to play the saxophone, and just difficult to convince stubborn minds that believe in lies. Because some people, like bears, will never learn to play the saxophone, they will remain bears throughout their lives.