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October
21, 2002:
Creating Positives Out of Tragedy
Interview
with Maxine Schnall, author of What
Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger
Mike
Carruthers:
Although it's hard to realize it at the time, good things often
come from tragedy and bad experiences.
Maxine
Schnall:
And I truly believe that anybody can turn the worst kind
of tragedy into something that has gifts in it that they never
imagined.
Maxine Schnall,
author of the book What
Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger, has dealt with her
own tragedy and interviewed many others who have dealt with
tragic events.
So many
people have told me, "My cancer was a gift" because
it made them appreciate life more and take charge of their health,
or that losing their job was the best thing that ever happened
to them, or that their divorce saved their lives because they
went on to have healthier and more loving relationships. So
I think that the first thing you have to do is recognize that
the worst things that happen to us have the most potential to
make us great.
You also
have to change your view of yourself from being a victim to
being a survivor.
I know
when my tragedy happened, I kept saying, "Why me? Why me?"
in this paranoid way. But instead of doing that, if you ask
"Why me?" in an empowering way, say, "Okay, what
can I do with this tragedy?" then you can begin to move
on with your life.
And Maxine
says we need to alter the way we look at suffering and sorrow.
When
you accept sorrow as a natural thing, instead of feeling that
it's an imposition on me that only I have, you're not all tied
up with anger and paranoia. You then realize it's a natural
part of life and you're going to deal with it.
You can
link to Maxine's website
from ours, somethingyoushouldknow.net.
I'm Mike Carruthers and that's "Something You Should Know."
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