The Moment I Stopped Avoiding Change And Got A New Start

Taking a literal look at herself was all Brandi Preul needed to completely change her life.

"I think I was putting laundry away, and I caught my reflection in a mirror, and I just completely felt sorry for who I saw," Preul told HuffPost Live's Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani. "I had done a long time of avoiding my reflection because I didn't like what I saw, but I felt absolutely sorry for who I saw and I knew I needed to make a change."

And change she did. Preul's realization of her unhappiness drove her to file for divorce, uproot the lives of herself and her daughter and move to a different state. She had to wait more than a year until the divorce was finalized, but she vividly remembers the moment she finally knew that her life was what she wanted it to be.

"I looked into the mirror and I thought, 'I'm pretty awesome, and I love my life, and I'm happy where I am right now,'" she said. "That was the moment that I was like, 'Alright, I'm over everything that just happened.'"

Did you get a new job? New spouse? New city? We want to hear from you! Share your stories of life-changing breakthrough moments with HuffPost's Third Metric at themoment@huffingtonpost.com.