After looking backward we know it is time for a new story. That can leave us with a sense of discomfort and uncertainty. Believe in yourself, and write your new story.
Transcripts:
Kierkegaard said that “Life must be lived forwards, but it can only be understood backwards.” And we’ve looked backwards, and we understand—now it’s time to be able to move forward into that new story, a story that very much includes and is filled with new possibilities. When we think about moving forward and moving forward into the unknown, we have to embrace discomfort. We have to embrace uncertainty.
When I think about that idea, I come to a poem from a guy named Patrick Overton, which is called Taught to Fly. And Overton wrote: “When you walk to the edge of all the light you have and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen: there will be something solid for you to stand upon, or you will be taught to fly.”
You’re watching this video because you have made a choice—a choice to start walking forward, harnessing the power of everything that has come before and all the opportunities that are yet to emerge. Choice is a huge part of this journey of growth. The other thing that is huge when it comes to new possibilities is believing in yourself. I’m a big believer that one of the major impacts of struggle is that it rattles and shakes and shatters our confidence. We lose faith in our ability to confidently do things—to be productive, to learn, to be effective. We backfoot life, and we’re afraid to lean in and get hurt again.
A key part of this journey, and the reason why I believe deeply in reading the stories of others who have walked the path before us, is that it inspires us. It reminds us that we’re not alone. We’re not unique in our struggles and our sadness and our fear, and it reminds us that good things can truly happen after really bad things.
When I think about the idea of story and what it means in the context of new possibilities, to me, it’s really about: how do new possibilities show up in your life, and where do they appear? We’ve spoken about the five domains of posttraumatic growth, and the opportunity to grow across the board represents the greatest new possibility—filled with paths and options and opportunities.
When I think about the amazing stories of PTG, stories that are reflective of new possibilities, I think about one of my heroes, Viktor Frankl—a man who lost everything at the concentration camps. His new possibility was to use his experiences to teach people around the world to find meaning in their life through love, through work, and through how we handle suffering—that is an inevitable part of life. I think about the story of Edith Eger, who went from victim to victor, who used her experience to become a psychologist and help others walk their paths of growth. I think about the POWs from the Hanoi Hilton, who used their experience to teach all of us about how to liberate ourselves from the mental prisons that we find ourselves in—and how they stay true to their brother’s keeper ethic to this very day.
Those stories remind us that PTG is possible. They remind us that good things can happen in our lives after bad things. We just have to find the courage, the conviction, the support, and the vision to spot them and to take advantage of them.
Arthur Schopenhauer said, “We mistake the limits of the world for the limits of our field of vision.” Our challenge and our opportunity is to find ways to open those blinders—through books, through stories, through people, through connection, through travel, through new experiences, through openness, through curiosity. Because when we do that, we truly see all the beauty and joy that life can offer.
So, as you reflect on new possibilities and the story of your life, I want you to reflect on three questions. What past experience demonstrates to you that you have the capacity and the capability to spot and seize new possibilities? Second, what skills, strengths, and abilities do you possess that best equip you to spot and seize new possibilities? And third, what does your life look like, and who are you, when you are spotting and seizing new possibilities?
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