I was listening to the podcast “On with Kara Swisher,” and makeup mogul Bobbi Brown was the guest. Bobbi Brown had launched a new makeup company and was looking for an older woman who had not had any cosmetic work done on her face to serve as a model for the brand. She recounted passing a farmstand, seeing a woman she thought would be a great model for her brand, and asking if the woman would be interested in a photoshoot. The woman agreed, and the photoshoot went so well that she is now a working model represented by Wilhemena. WOW! This woman has an entirely new career as a model, and I am sure she never saw that coming. Her entire life changed in an instant, all because she was at the right place and the right time.

“Those are the moments of serendipity and synchronicity that have been missing from my life,” I thought to myself.

Merriam-Webster defines serendipity as the ability to find valuable or agreeable things not sought for, or as luck that takes the form of such finding. My simple definition of serendipity is of good things happening when you least expect them.

The work of psychologist Carl Jung defined synchronicity as the coincidental occurrence of events, especially psychic events (such as similar thoughts in widely separated persons or a mental image of an unexpected event before it happens), that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality. (Merriam-Webster)

When we were all forced into the house in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we lost the gifts of serendipity and synchronicity. People tried to make their own fortunes by settling for what was available, but there was very little right place and right time because we were all stuck at home.

Years later, I fear we have lost those moments where life can change in an instant because many of us are choosing the couch over going out and positioning ourselves for life-changing moments. Recently, I heard a business owner say his main competition isn’t other businesses; it’s the couch. I have been asking myself how many possible moments of serendipity and synchronicity I have missed because I have decided to stay in the house or continue in my same routine.

I am currently navigating a career change, and I know that I cannot afford to keep living in the house or maintain the same routine, because I will miss moments of serendipity and synchronicity that could lead to life-changing connections and opportunities. I need to be out in the world because I doubt that opportunities will be coming to my doorstep and ringing my doorbell.

Getting out into the world is also critical for mental and emotional well-being. This year, I have attended in-person career workshops that not only provided valuable information, but also provided moments of connection with others who are also navigating career change. I didn’t feel so alone and ashamed about changing careers in my forties because there are people my age and older who are also looking to do the same. I felt a sense of relief hearing others share about hard times, mistakes, and why they needed a change.

For those who have been in the same career for years or who have been out of the workforce for a long time, the workshops helped us understand the current job landscape, resumes and AI, and enabled us to brush up on our interview skills. Who knows what attending those workshops could lead to? If I had never participated in those workshops, I would not have been prepared when the opportunity presented itself. These are the moments of serendipity and synchronicity that we do not realize until we look back and realize that one event would not have happened without the other.

I am making 2026 the year I get out of the house, off the couch, and back out into the world. The woman at the farmstand was out living her life and doing what she loved, and her life changed in a moment.

It will take a generation to understand the ramifications of the pandemic on our society, and serendipity and synchronicity are just two of the gifts we took for granted before 2020.

Let us move back out into the world and embrace those moments that change our lives forever.