Our wins in life sometimes come easy for us. At other times they come with great pain and hardship. And there are other moments when we fail to see that a win in our life is actually a win at all. The tumultuous wins we experience in life come in many different forms but can be huge victories.
How could it be a win to be able to even walk across the street? That was a tumultuous win that I never realized was a win at all till years later. Why was it a win? Because I had almost been killed in an accident in Cambodia. I had my ulnar artery completely severed and almost bled out. I was saved by a retired Scottish orthopedic surgeon who ran a charity that did volunteer surgeries on landmine victims. I was then sent to Singapore to have my hand and wrist completely reconstructed by a top hand specialist. For weeks after, although deeply thankful for the doctors who came to my rescue in my greatest time of need, I suffered from post traumatic stress disorder that was so bad I was jarred awake by the sound of shattering glass in my mind every night as I slept. The PTSD was so intense at times that I couldn’t bring myself to walk across busy roads after the accident. I was overcome by panic in those moments. How could the simple act of walking across the street be such a win? For me it was because in the first few weeks after, I would literally freeze and not be able to take the first steps needed to begin crossing the street. Every time I walked across a busy street, it became less constricting in my mind. It gave me hope I would recover and that I could move on with my life. However, I didn’t know it to be a win till years later when I looked at the situation differently. The accident changed my life and took me in a new direction. This direction provided my family and I with amazing opportunities that we are eternally grateful for to this very day. I’ve shared only one example here on purpose. To provoke you to think more deeply about the tumultuous wins in your own life. Your tumultuous wins are uniquely yours. Explore what these wins may be. Reflect on hardship and life lessons learned. Create time and space to do so and I guarantee you will also be able to connect the dots and realize that you came out better on the other side for having gone through what you did. Thanks for reading.
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AuthorKAUST Faculty, Pedagogical Coach. Presenter & Workshop Leader.IB Educator. #RunYourLife podcast host. Archives
September 2022
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