It was a beautiful day for a hike, but Elizabeth Miles wished she could be anywhere else. During a camping trip to the Poconos in 2019, reasons to hate the strenuous journey through the mountains ran through her mind – she was out of shape, she could get lost, or people could laugh at her just for being there.
During a rest stop high up in the hills overlooking a gorgeous view, Miles heard a voice. It was a few simple words, but they changed her life: “This is where you pivot.”
“It was like the universe tapped me on the head saying, are you ready to wake up now?” the Mayfair native recalled.
She was ready. As the trip continued, Miles realized telling herself all the reasons not to be happy on this trip made no sense. She was choosing to look at the negatives. And with a change of mindset, she changed her experience.
“I knew I had to get myself off of that mountain, but I knew I could do it,” she said.
The viewpoint Miles took away from that trip applied to many areas in her life. At home, Miles was in a 20-year, emotionally abusive, sometimes physically abusive marriage. She also found herself struggling with her health and finances while trying to raise four kids. Within a few months of the hiking trip, she was able to leave the marriage and give herself a fresh start.
Since then, Miles founded March Forth Media Company, centered around the idea of sharing her story and helping others make their own positive changes. She’s created a blog and podcast and published a trio of books, all with the message that choice is within the individual.
“Once you start looking at everyone around you for answers, if you’re anything like me you end up just spinning in circles,” she said. “It comes down to you.”
In her first book This Is Where You Pivot, Miles recounts her experience on the camping trip and how she was able to change her life. The second book, The Journey to Healing, imbues the reader with the importance of self-love as you seek change. Loving and accepting yourself will give you emotional fortitude to persevere with your journey, she writes.
Connect You is a companion workbook that guides the reader through their own self-reflection exercises.
In her marriage, Miles said her biggest obstacle was continuing to look at the problem the same way. Changing her perspective was a gradual process – even when she was in the courthouse during the divorce, she recalled her lawyer asking her to make an important decision and returning with a deer-in-the-headlights look. She asked the lawyer what he thought she should do, but realized the choice was nobody’s but hers.
“I thought, this is it, no one’s coming to save me,” she recalled.
But she was able to calm herself down, tell herself everything would work out, and remind herself that the power for change was within herself.
Now, she wants to help others find that same power. ••
To learn more about Miles and March Forth, visit MarchForthMediaCompany.com.
