|
As human beings we have a tendency to question ourselves and let the opinions of other people cloud our minds. We start to procrastinate or give up completely on the things that we want to accomplish in life which causes a whole host of problems for us. We begin to doubt our self worth, make poor decisions, put down the accomplishments of others, fight with significant others, and we ultimately lose ourselves which can lead to anxiety, stress, depression, substance abuse, and even suicide. Everything that I described in that first paragraph seems like it’s all negative but with the exception of suicide, there is positive power in all of those scenarios! It’s very easy to celebrate the wins of life and although those wins can motivate others, the true power lies in the struggles, the challenges, and the tough roads that life will take you down. It’s HOW you tell those stories that will decide how you proceed forward. If you let the negative thoughts consume you and even worse “define” you, then you will be headed down a dark path. I’m going to show you 4 steps to turn your pain into power that can help you heal yourself and inspire others. Step #1 is to accept what happened. This is usually tough in events like assault, violent crimes, and losing loved ones but in the aftermath of those events, the power lies in HOW you rebounded from what happened. How did you manage your emotions, return to work, and face your family? Telling those stories can have the power to change someone's life and give you closure. Step #2 is to give yourself what I call a pain assessment. This is where you write out how the event hurt you and be very specific. Then write out what you learned from that event. For example, we had to end care for my father in 2019. Watching him die was the worst thing I've ever experienced. I was able to quickly accept what happened because I shifted to a place of gratitude that he was in my life for 45 years. Not everyone can say that so in that dark moment, gratitude helped me accept what happened. Step #3 Take charge of how you feel! Yes, it's a good thing to have the support of others but ultimately you have to decide when to revisit the pain and begin to find the teachable moments. I suffered a major knee injury in 2009 when the doctors told me I would never run or jump again. I chose to decide what my outcome would be and worked myself all the way back! The power in that story isn't the major knee injury, it's in the journey that I undertook to make it happen and complete 160+ races! The final step is to share your story and share it often! It will be difficult in the beginning but the more you share it, you will realize that people need to hear how you overcome your struggles! I started a podcast where I share my guests' stories of overcoming obstacles. We have reached 40 countries and I've interviewed people from 6 continents. People across the globe need to hear YOUR story! When you are ready to step out of the pain is when you will step into your power. Meet Our Contributing Author — Robert Foster  Credit: Robert Foster Robert B Foster is an ordinary man with an extraordinary imagination. He has always been a dreamer and was doubted by many people about his ability to accomplish those dreams but he listened to the ONE person whose opinion really mattered. The ONE person that could stop his forward progress...himself. There were many hardships along the way but there were no failures. There are things that work and there are things that do not work. You learn from both and that is called experience. Too many times we get knocked down in life but it only becomes failure when we choose to stay down. Learn more about Robert here.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |