It was Oprah Winfrey who said “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” I certainly have come to my own personal realisation that some of life’s best lessons are learned through our worst times.
Anyone who has faced big adversity in their life, and managed to overcome it, will have undoubtedly learned a lot from the experience. And there are a lot of other people who could benefit from the expertise they acquired.
In our lives it’s almost inevitable that we will face problems, challenges, and uncertainty. They bring you a deeper understanding and teach you so much if you’re prepared to look for the true meaning you can take from it.
Here is the most important lesson I’ve learnt. We all have scars. Some fade and are soon forgotten while others persist and bring bad memories with them. Everyone makes a choice how to grow and move forward in the wake of their bad times, and it’s how you choose to cope with your scars that determines the quality of life and the impact you have on the world.
It was Wayne Dyer who said “When you change the way you look at things, the way things look change.” Often the greatest setbacks in our life end up being the greatest blessing in disguise. Sometimes your biggest failure, sets you up for your greatest success.
My life changed the minute I asked myself 2 questions. They were:
What big adversity have I overcome in my life?
How can I help others do the same?
If I hadn’t asked myself these questions I wouldn’t now be a blogger, have written a course that changes lives, be giving inspirational talks through webinars, be writing my book or coaching others to transform their life and never give up.
How better to live than enjoying helping others through sharing my knowledge and experience? It certainly has turned my wounds into wisdom.
In the past, I wasn’t one to vocalize my personal struggles — and for a long time kept my house repossession, bankruptcy, closure of my businesses secret certainly not publicising on my website. Then everything changed I realised I could best contribute to the world by sharing my troubled times and helping others facing similar deal with it in the best way possible. I had learnt so much it felt right to share my story so I could show my ability to support others.
So even though it’s still tough for me to share my pain and weaknesses with the world, I do it because I know it will help others.
If we are going to allow ourselves to be the very best we can be, then we must move on from our deepest wounds, but not forget them. We need to use what they teach us to help other people deal with their similar problems and crises.
The question is whether we have the courage to transform our darkest times into something that can make a difference to the world
I couldn’t have imagined the darkness of what I would go through in one year — the pain I went through, the bad way I reacted which only slowed down my recovery, the effect everything had on my poor kids. But looking back I did learn so much, and can help others avoid the mistakes I made.
For a very long time I looked at my past with shame, guilt, resentment and regret, I beat myself up, worse still I kept myself down longer than needed. The Dalai Lama said, “Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.” If only I had known that back then my road to recovery would have been even quicker.
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” Kahlil Gibran
Now give it some thought. What things have you overcome in your life that others are also struggling with? How can you now set about helping others, it is time for you to turn your wounds into wisdom.
If you need help finding your answer I’d love to be able to work with you and show you how to create your masterpiece of life from the lessons of your past. Take a look at my 1-2-1 Coaching information. I look forward to connecting.
One comment