The Camino Chronicles: Day 3

The Pivot Point

Sometimes the most courageous thing you can do is admit that your dreams need updating – and Sophie’s phone call proved that courage comes in unexpected forms.

Day 3: Wisdom lies not in stubborn adherence to old Dreams

What happens when you discover that your current purpose needs a complete overhaul? Today, as our pilgrims walk from Nogaro toward Aire-sur-Adour, Sophie’s overheard conversation forces both travellers to confront a difficult truth: sometimes living your purpose means being brave enough to adjust it.

You know that moment when you finally get exactly what you’ve always wanted, and your first instinct is to run screaming in the opposite direction? Welcome to the pivot point – where dreams meet reality and discover they need couples therapy.

After All These Years

Armand pretends to study his map while Sophie paces the small courtyard of the ancient farmhouse near Nogaro. Her phone was practically surgically attached to her ear, and her voice, well, it had the kind of intensity that could curdle milk at 20 paces and cut through the evening air like a hot knife through butter.

“Yes, Marcus, I grasp the ‘opportunity’ part,” she declared, “but perhaps you could try grasping the ‘I’m not the same person who bolted from Lyon six months ago’ part? No, it’s not a divorce-induced midlife crisis, thank you very much. This is about finally figuring out who the heck I actually am!”

She paused, listening, and Armand watched her face morph from pure frustration to something akin to fierce, unadulterated joy. He braced himself.

“A travel writing position? With Condé Nast?” Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “After all these years?”

Armand’s heart did a little two-step of vicarious hope. He knew that feeling intimately – the universe, in its infinite comedic wisdom, offering you your wildest dream just as you’d started to dream of something else entirely.

“I need to stew on it,” Sophie continued. “I know it sounds utterly bonkers, but this whole Camino thing has shown me that maybe what I thought I wanted isn’t actually what I need. Give me a week to think it over.”

When she hangs up, she finds rmand watching her with knowing eyes. “Congratulations,” he says quietly. “And condolences.” Sophie laughs, surprised. “That’s exactly how it feels. Dream job offer, everything I thought I wanted at eighteen, handed to me on a silver platter at fifty-two. So why do I feel like I’m being offered a gilded cage?”

They hit the road early the next morning, leaving Nogaro bathed in the golden glow of the rising sun. The previous night’s conversation hovered between them like the morning mist – undeniably present, yet ever-shifting.

“So, tell me about this writing thing,” Armand prompted as they tackled a particularly lung-busting uphill section.

“I used to think I wanted to write about places,” Sophie huffed, in desperate need of an oxygen mask. “Exotic locales, luxury resorts, the whole champagne-and-caviar-in-a-bathtub vibe. But these past few days, trekking with you, with the group… I think what I really want to write about is transformation. About people finding their ‘inner awesome’ in the most unexpected spots.”

“That’s quite a detour from five-star reviews.”

“Terrifying, actually. It’s one thing to stumble upon your purpose. It’s another entirely to realize your purpose has been doing its own thing, evolving behind your back, while you were busy chasing shiny objects.”

Armand nodded slowly, a thoughtful look on his face. “I spent forty years convinced my purpose was building things – planes, intricate systems, grand structures. But watching you scribble in your journal every night, seeing how you genuinely listen to people’s stories… I’m starting to wonder if my real purpose might be less about charting territories and more about helping people navigate their own messy journeys.”

“A pivot from cartography to… what? Life coach for lost souls?”

“Something along those lines,” he admitted, a wry smile playing on his lips. “Quite the terrifying thought for a man who’s spent a lifetime with blueprints and measurements that leave no room for ‘feelings.'”

They crested a hill, and below them, Aire-sur-Adour unfurled, its church bells ringing across the valley like a triumphant fanfare for their newfound clarity.

“Maybe that’s the Camino’s actual masterclass,” Sophie mused. “Not just to follow your purpose, but to let it adapt. To trust that the person you’re becoming might actually be way cooler than the person you dreamed of being.”

“Even if it means politely declining dream jobs and starting from scratch at fifty-eight?”

“Especially then,” she affirmed, a spark of conviction in her eyes.

Your Turn to Reflect:

Write about a time when you got exactly what you thought you wanted, only to realise you’d outgrown that want. How might you need to adjust your current sense of purpose? What would it look like to honour both who you were and who you’re becoming? If your dreams came with update notifications, what would the latest version look like?

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” – Joseph Campbell

Key Takeaways:

1. Purpose isn’t static – it evolves as we do – Your purpose at 25 might be completely different from your purpose at 50, and that’s not failure, it’s growth
2. Sometimes the scariest pivot is away from our old dreams toward our new truth – The hardest person to disappoint is often the person we used to be
3. Growth often means outgrowing even our cherished goals – What got you here won’t get you there
4. It’s never too late to course-correct, even when you’re already on course – Sometimes the right path leads away from the right destination
5. The most authentic path often requires disappointing our former selves – Your 18-year-old dreams might not fit your 50-year-old soul

The Purpose Pivot Protocol

Sophie’s phone call illuminates one of life’s cruellest ironies: sometimes we get what we always wanted just when we’re ready for something completely different. It’s like finally getting invited to the cool kids’ table only to realise you’d rather eat lunch with the debate team.

The Purpose Pivot Protocol recognises that purpose isn’t a destination you arrive at and stay forever – it’s a living, breathing, evolving thing that grows as you do. The dreams that sustained you through your twenties might feel like straitjackets in your fifties, and that’s not a sign that you’re ungrateful or confused. It’s a sign that you’re alive.

This protocol teaches us to honour both who we were and who we’re becoming. It’s about having the courage to disappoint your former self in service of your authentic self. It’s about recognising that the most terrifying pivot isn’t away from failure – it’s away from a success that no longer fits who you’ve become.

Conclusion

The Camino teaches us that real wisdom lies not in stubborn adherence to old dreams, but in the courage to let our purpose evolve. After 45, we have the luxury of experience and the burden of knowing ourselves well enough to demand authenticity over achievement.

Sophie’s deleted phone number represents more than turning down a job – it’s a declaration of independence from the person she thought she was supposed to be. It’s the moment when she stops asking “What do I want?” and starts asking “Who am I becoming?” And sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is admit that your dreams need updating.

As they approach Aire-sur-Adour, Armand collapses on the path, clutching his chest. Sophie’s scream echoes across the valley, and she realises that all her plans for tomorrow might be meaningless if she loses the friend who’s helping her find herself today. Sometimes the biggest pivot isn’t professional – it’s personal, and it happens in the space of a heartbeat.

Want to follow Sophie and Armand on this transformative journey? Subscribe to receive each new instalment directly in your inbox, plus insights and tools for navigating your own life transitions. Because your adventure – whatever form it takes – is waiting for you to be brave enough to begin.

• The Camino Chronicles Day 1
• The Camino Chronicles Day 2

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Ready to embrace your own purpose pivot? The Purpose Pivot Protocol helps you navigate the space between who you were and who you’re becoming – even when it means disappointing the person you used to be.