If you have not seen the movie, Soul Surfer, I recommend it. When starting to plan out this week, this movie was not on my list of the things I had planned to use as an illustration. But after hearing someone who related their life to the story in this movie, I had to check it out.
The movie is about the story of Bethany Hamilton, a 13-year-old surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack. The movie shows her struggles to live with the new challenge in her life, learning to balance life as a surfer with one arm. It shows her, among other things, learning to help others who are afraid of the water after a tsunami hits.
Her story is a strong one when we think of those who struggle with a loss. They have to overcome some great struggle to succeed. When thinking of her story and the theme for this week, I wanted to add this movie as one to give life lessons on standing out. At the end the movie she is asked in an interview if she could go back to that day would she not go surfing? She replied she would still choose to lose her arm because now she can embrace more people with one arm then she could before with both arms.
In Dallas, we have a similar story happening now. The family of Lauren Scruggs is facing a similar loss. She lost her hand and an eye when she accidently walked into a spinning plane propeller in December. I have known her family’s struggles long before this happened. Her parents have chosen to take the trials they went through with their marriage and make a ministry out of it, helping others restore marriages as they did with theirs.
Some who struggle with a loss will give up the spirit that kept them chasing a dream. Others will take strength in the loss; they will find a new way to pursue the God-given dream that is inside of them. When they are able to see past the struggle, when they watch the dream come true, they will be like Bethany and say, “I would still give up that arm.” You will be able to do far more without the one thing that is taken than you were able to do with all still intact.
So, in your life, what have you lost? No matter what it is, you need to keep two things in mind that will support you to do the purpose you have yet to do on this earth. It is that purpose that can be your driving force. In my own life, when I set out towards my own purpose I, had things fall into place to take care of things I had lost.
When you have a major loss like the one shown in this movie, there are two things you must keep in mind to keep going. They will help you to perform the purpose you still have on this earth. Remember, if you are still breathing, your job on this earth is not done.
So what are the two things we need to hang on to?
1. Hope. That’s right. Even through loss, you need to be a person of hope. I have spoken on this subject many times. Those who have hope that a better purpose is coming along and start a journey to look for it with hope succeed and stand out. I know that every time I had a business fail or when I woke up in the hospital after an epilepsy seizure, it was hope that it was going to be OK that got me back in the game. I knew that something better was coming along. Even when going down some deadend roads that left me having to start over again, hope was the thing I held on to that better days were coming.
2. Spirit. No matter what it is you have lost, never lose the spirit and drive to find what it is you are to do now. I know when we were younger we were all told “You can do anything you want; if you want to be President of the United States some day you can.” We had that belief for a great life; we started making plans to see a dream of passion of purpose come true. The truth is those who achieve the dreams they had as a child all had to lose a few things along the way. We all had to walk up a few mountains along the path to make that dream come true.
So if you want to stand out, find the ways to keep your balance when life takes something from you. Life is always going to take you on turns that were not in your plan. You will have things taken from you. The way you handle it, the new things that you learn to do will be what make you stand out in a crowd of hundreds doing the same business you are. No matter what you have lost, use it to be the stand-out person in your world.
I’m Tim Gillette, the Rocker Life Coach. It’s time to live your dream, to love what you do and those you share life with. It’s how you rebalance life after you lose that thing you thought you needed to be in balance that will make you the RockStar in your world.
