#371: How I Stopped Living Out of the Worst Thing That Happened to Me

Roughly ten years ago, I had a massive life crisis. I lost my health while doing everything right.

I'm still not sure whether the fall was more about the pain of trying so hard and ending up worse than I started, or the pride of working in a health space I apparently knew nothing about.

Of course, there were a lot of things at play. And somewhere in the middle of it, I started to realize I didn't even know who I was. I had been chasing ideas, places, and situations the world told me I needed to be, do, and become, with little regard for who I really was.

I did the work, but I expected the fix.

I'll be forever grateful for my counseling experience. But the point of therapy didn't really land until my last therapist.

Yes, I fired the first three, for reasons you may be familiar with. They weren't giving me what I wanted. Which was a completely new story. I did the work, but I expected the fix. And truthfully, I didn't know they weren't in charge of my fix. I was.

I hope that lands as hard for you as it did for me. If we're ever going to be different, live differently, or transform in whatever area we're longing for, the most important thing is self-responsibility.

Our healing is ultimately up to us. I see this play out all through the Bible. The people who received healing and miracles sought them out. The woman who pressed through the crowd to touch the hem of Jesus' garment. Blind Bartimaeus, who kept shouting even when people told him to be quiet. The friends who lowered a paralyzed man through a roof. They didn't sit back and wait, and they didn't put it on someone else. They wanted it, they chose it, and they believed it.

One of my favorite examples is a woman whose whole story changed in a single conversation at a well. I unpack her in Four Lessons from the Woman at the Well.

If you've ever waited on someone else to hand you the fix, today's podcast is for you. I go deeper into what finally shifted for me in that fourth counselor's office, why self-responsibility is the first step in changing your story, and how to stop outsourcing your healing without carrying it all alone. Grab your coffee, press play, and let me show you how to rewrite your story.

Learn more: https://thelivingwell.com/371

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