Taking the time to reflect on moments, conversations and experiences from your past can have a profound effect on your current thinking. As a kid, or even as an adult in the moment, you probably didn’t consider the bigger picture. While it can be unproductive to dwell on the past, recalling events in a broader context can provide amazing insight into your current circumstance.

Some of the best memoiries are experiences that reinforce the connection you have (or had) with someone close to you. A couple of years ago, I had the privilege of writing an essay for Golf Digest’s Golf Saved My Life feature about a special trip I took with my dad. Both the trip and the experience of writing about it are two of my best memoiries and great examples of just what the Memoiry Journal is all about.

“When I was 14, my dad surprised me with a golf trip we couldn’t afford,” it began. At the time, I didn’t know just how significant that experience would be for me in the future. But when I took the time to write it, I was able to put it in context with my father’s sudden death two years later and the impact that had on my mother, my sister and me, both emotionally and financially.

My interest in golf was reinforced by that precious time spent with my dad and may have contributed to me getting a college scholarship, eventually putting me on a gratifying career path dedicated to helping people avoid the monetary pitfalls that my family encountered at a difficult time.

What experience do you recall that brought you closer to someone you care about? How did it shape you later in life? What doors did it open for you?

Why not record it and share it so others can benefit as well?

You can read my essay at http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/2011-12/golf-saved-my-life