The person you become

“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”

There are times in life when everything you thought was certain suddenly changes.

The plans you made no longer make sense.

The future you imagined disappears.

And you’re left trying to work out what to do next.

It’s an uncomfortable place to be.

Because human beings like certainty.

We like knowing where we’re going.

We like believing that if we work hard and make sensible decisions, everything will turn out as expected.

But life doesn’t always cooperate.

And sometimes the most important lessons arrive in circumstances we would never have chosen.

You discover that you can cope with more than you imagined.

That you can begin again.

That asking for help is not weakness.

That things you once considered essential weren’t essential at all.

And that some of the things you worried about losing were preventing you from discovering something better.

Which brings us to today’s lesson.

When life changes, let it teach you.

You don’t need to have all the answers.

You don’t need to pretend everything is fine.

And you certainly don’t need to believe that every hardship happens for a reason.

But you can make a reason to keep going.

Learn what the experience has to teach you.

Take responsibility for what you can change.

Let go of what you cannot.

Accept help.

Look for opportunities.

And remember that the life ahead of you is not required to resemble the life behind you.

It may be different.

It may even be better.

Because there are extraordinary things about yourself that you may never discover until life asks more of you than you thought you could give.

Courage you didn’t know you had.

Strength you had never needed.

Compassion you couldn’t have understood before.

And perhaps, years from now, you’ll find yourself standing somewhere beautiful.

Surrounded by people you love.

Living a life you couldn’t possibly have imagined during those difficult days.

You’ll remember the person you were when everything seemed uncertain.

And you’ll wish you could tell them what you know now.

That there were still wonderful things ahead.

That the future was still full of possibilities.

That their life was far from finished.

The storm may change the course of your life.

But you still get to decide what kind of person walks out of it.

And what you do with the life that comes next.