Life is chemistry long before it is philosophy.

We react, we adapt, we combine, we separate. Sometimes we burn too hot. Sometimes we refuse to ignite at all. But at every stage, whether we admit it or not, we are built for change. Even when we resist it. Even when we pretend we want stability more than transformation.

The truth is, every one of us is a small laboratory — mixing circumstances, emotions, disappointments and ambitions until something new forms.

Great Expectations is often described as a novel about ambition, class and social mobility, but beneath all of that is a far more intimate story: a child’s identity disrupted by a single moment that rearranges the entire trajectory of his life.

Pip meets Miss Havisham and Estella at a young age, and in that brief encounter he absorbs a new self-perception — that who he is, in his natural state, is somehow inadequate. The rest of his life becomes a reaction to that moment. A recalibration, or chemical shift of sorts.

And because that shift is born out of shame, Pip responds the way many of us do: he gravitates toward what looks like relief rather than what is aligned. He didn’t choose the greatest evil; he chose the one that seemed to promise escape from shame. But escape and alignment are not synonyms, and a life built from avoidance becomes its own punishment.

And Pip names this with haunting precision in Chapter 9:

That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been. Pause, you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.

This is more than a literary insight. It is the underlying chemistry of human life.

Every identity has a “first link” — a catalytic moment that changes the internal formula. Some links become iron, heavy and restrictive. Some become gold, shining but still binding. Some bloom like flowers. Some cut like thorns. But every link is a reaction. A shift in self-concept. A moment where the body and mind say, Ah… so this is who I must be to survive, to belong, to be seen, to be loved.

Life, then, is chemistry. A sequence of reactions, some intentional, many unconscious. We adapt, we contract, we expand, we protect, we harden, we soften.

Change is not an optional feature…it is our
default setting.

And yet, for all this built-in alchemy, people often convince themselves they cannot change. Or worse, they choose the lesser of two evils and call it wisdom.

The tragedy is not simply the choice — it’s the belief that harm is the only option available, that life can only be negotiated through versions of pain. But evil — diluted, reduced, prettied up — is still corrosive. A life built around tolerating the lesser harm still becomes a life that hurts.

The harder work is choosing differently.

Choosing the reaction that requires courage instead of convenience. Choosing the path that honors ambition without letting ambition possess you. Staying steadfast in direction while being flexible in approach — because chemistry demands flexibility. Even the strongest compounds can reconfigure under the right conditions. So can we.

And this is where the quote becomes more than nostalgia or reflection. It becomes a diagnostic tool. It asks you to identify the first link — not to judge it, but to understand it. To see how much of your life has been a reaction to that one moment. And then to decide whether that original formula still deserves authority over who you are now.

Most people never revisit the link. They simply feel the weight of the chain and assume that’s how life must be. But when you trace it back, you often discover that the moment that made you adapt no longer requires your obedience. You can change the formula. You can rewrite the reaction. You can choose a new compound.

Because chemistry is not fixed. Neither are you.

And if life is chemistry, then today — right here, right now — is not an accident. It is the sum of every reaction that came before it. It places you exactly where you are meant to be to create the next link with intention, not inheritance.

Strategic Reflection Prompt

If you trace the chain back to its first link and look at the reaction it set in motion, what part of your original design — your natural motivations, gifts and way of moving through the world — is asking to be reclaimed now… not to become someone else, but to return to who you already are?

About Giselle

I’m Giselle Hudson — Organization & People Development Sensemaker™, MCODE® Legacy Coach, writer and musician. I help leaders and independent professionals close the gap between strategy and execution by making invisible friction visible, so direction can finally translate into results.

If execution isn’t matching intent and you can’t quite see why, message me on WhatsApp. We’ll start with a brief Clarity Conversation to understand what you’re facing and decide together whether a focused Sensemaking Session is the right next step.