In 1980, a 13-year-old girl was on her way to a church fair with a friend when she was hit from behind and killed by a drunk driver. Her mom was furious when she learned that drunk drivers were rarely punished appropriately for their crimes, and the man who killed her daughter would serve very little time in prison. She got mad! Then later turned her pain into purpose and created MADD – Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, which grew into the country’s most influential non-profit organization. Formed on her kitchen table, with no money and no experience, she grew the organization from one, herself, to over 2 million members and eventually inspired the passage of over 400 legislative bills which resulted in the reduction of drink driving fatalities by half.
Heartbreak, setbacks, tragedies….. we all experience them.
But the choice is yours.
You can turn your anger into advocacy
Your discouragement into determination
Your mess into message
Your pain into purpose
Your test into a testimony
Your tragedy into triumph
Or move from a victim to a victor
And from a whiner to a warrior
You get to decide.
So, in these crazy times, will you become bitter or better?
I know, you’ve heard this all before. You’ve been told to let it go, move on, forgive, live in the present etc. etc.
These may all seem like platitudes, but I’m here to tell you that they are not!
They helped me change my life. And you can too.
Here’s how:
- Ask yourself the right questions. Is it possible that you’ve been looking at that painful memory the wrong way? What if, instead of wallowing in self- pity and self-loathing, you find a way to help others going through the same thing?
- Gain Perspective. Bad things happen to good people all the time. You can either allow it to blow out the flame of your candle or you can let it be the oxygen that nourishes that flame.
- Learn to Trust Yourself. This is not going to be easy. Hard work is involved. There will be times when you’ll second guess yourself or you’ll stop believing when something doesn’t turn out the way you hoped. But stay the course. Don’t give up.
Don’t waste your pain.
Grow through them, don’t just go through them. Use your pain to incite the victor in you. Not only will it change the lives of those you embrace with your strength, wisdom and compassion, it will forever change your life, too.
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Until next time…..
Agree or disagree? I love your comments! Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
I look forward to hearing from you!!!
Althea
Connecting people, ideas, and resources so that a person’s life is better because I helped them make the right connection!!
