5 Steps to Rebound after Major Life Events and start New Chapters in Life: A Guest Post to Inspire
Meet Wendy Wallace and be inspired on how she overcame a major life event to start a new chapter in life.
As this is being published in July, a month focused on freedom in the U.S., I’m excited to share this story of true freedom. Of rebounding, starting a new chapter in life and new career as an entrepreneur after a life event. Something Wendy Wallace, wife, mom, Christian coach, Inspiration blogger, digital product creator, and author has found in her skills and her faith. She is a quadruple amputee who loves spending time with family, playing with flowers, and eating lots of ice cream. (me too Wendy!).
Wendy’s approach is through her faith and is about making the change positive. No matter your background or beliefs, I’m confident you’ll be inspired. You can find her at One Exceptional Life, where she helps women rediscover God's joy and peace amid the trials of life, but this post is for everyone; it’s focused on overcoming blocks, starting a new chapter in life, and living your best life, doing what you love!
Note: As a blogger, I use affiliate links sometimes! I may receive commission from purchases on links I share, but it does not change your price.
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
Have you ever had an event that absolutely turned your life and your way of doing things completely upside down?
Most of us are used to having struggles in our lives.
But what kind of struggle creates the need to close the chapter on what you’re completely accustomed to, and start an entirely new chapter in life?
HI, I'm Wendy and I am the most positive quadruple amputee you will ever meet.
My story is tragic yet with a positive outcome. Before I get into the steps to rebounding to start new chapters in life, let me paint the picture for you.
On a typical Thursday night as I was driving one of my children home from their weekly activity, I started to feel flu symptoms and an unusual swelling on my leg. 3 days later I was on life support after being airlifted to a hospital that could better care for the flesh-eating bacteria (AKA necrotizing fasciitis) that had invaded my body.
Image by Dmitriy Gutarev from Pixabay
I wasn't supposed to live. But through the faith and prayers of not only my family but our church family, friends, and strangers across the country. God heard those prayers, He saved my life but at the cost of amputating both hands and both feet. After three weeks in a coma and three months in the hospital, I was forced to close the chapter on my old life in order to start building my new life as a wife, mom, and business owner.
We often question why God allows major struggles to happen. I certainly did in this case.
The passion for the business that I had been running for 11 years was gone.
Thankfully it was something that could run itself without my active participation. But I’m a woman who's had an entrepreneurial spirit, with a heart of service since the day I was born.
I knew that God had a plan and that through my illness and amputations, I would be led to the opportunity to serve Him to the utmost. When we are given lemons, we can either make lemonade or wallow in self-pity. Here are my 5 Steps to rebound after a major life event to start a new chapter in life.
Image by congerdesign from Pixabay
Step 1: Understand that obstacles are an everyday part of life
There is no point in fighting this truth. Challenges are a part of life, whether we want them to be or not. As a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, I understand that all things are for our good and God's glory.
While I didn't understand why my family had to endure such a crisis, I did know God had a plan. My job was to figure it out and to trust God in the process. My revelation happened several years later during a river tubing adventure with my daughter. You can get the rest of my story on my blog, One Exceptional Life.
Image by Peter Bauer from Pixabay
Step 2: Grow your spiritual life
Rebounding happens after the acceptance that we need to pivot. The life verse that I continue to follow is Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
The only way to trust in the Lord, is to understand who He is, His character, His promises, and His love. Growing your spiritual life, is not a one-and-done, it takes diligent effort. While this takes lifelong learning, each step builds your faith. It starts with a relationship with Jesus Christ, and ongoing communication with Him in prayer daily. But as you learn to trust him, and allow Him to guide you, your new chapter will grow and flourish.
Step 3. Grow your gratitude
Grumbling about what's wrong in your life serves no purpose. Instead, count your blessings!
Gratitude plays an important role in your mindset reversal when times are tough. Getting into the habit of recording 3-5 things you are thankful for on a daily basis, provides a list of resources you can refer back to when you need a boost in positivity.
A gratitude journal is like the remote control that changes the channel when you don't like what you’re watching. It changes the channel in your mind from something negative to something positive.
As a firm believer that you can find blessings in bad times as well as good, I encourage you to test this theory, not only as you’re starting a new chapter in life, but every day.
Start building your gratitude habit. You will see that in no time at all, gratitude will become second nature to you.
RELATED from Daphne: Click here for my dear friend (and entrepreneur) Joyce’s Embodied Gratitude Experience
Photo by Prophsee Journals on Unsplash
Step 4: Grow your joy and positivity
We have all heard the phrase, “life is a journey, not a destination.” As we go along life's journey, how much better is it to live with a joyful and positive mindset, than to be the Negative Nelly everyone shies away from? We've all experienced conversations with people who can't think of a single positive thing to say.
Don't be that person!
A positive mindset comes from filling your mind with positive thoughts and ideas. Watching negativity like the news all day does not yield positivity. What you feed, grows. So if you focus on negativity, you'll yield negative thoughts and ideas.
Social media is a perfect place to get either one mindset or the other. The good news is, that it's completely possible to train your Facebook feed so that only positive posts show up.
RELATED tip from Daphne: Facebook groups like mine are full of support and positivity for your journey as an entrepreneur or building your new chapter in life; pin them to your feed. Join mine here.
Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash
Now joy comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The good news is, that joy doesn’t waver when someone cuts you off in traffic or the dog wets on your carpet.
Happiness, on the other hand, does change. So doing things to grow your joy has a long-term impact. Joy can be found by serving God, following Him, and spending time in close communion with Him in prayer.
As we look back on answered prayers, we can be reminded of how often and how great God works in our lives. Keeping that gratitude journal gives us a place to record those blessings.
If you choose to find joy in other ways, following the concept of stopping to smell the roses provides a similar result. Enjoy your morning coffee, a daily sunrise, and video chats with your children.
RELATED from Daphne on finding joy: My post about marrying my skills and passions after my Covid layoff to become a blogger. Click here to read it!
Photo by Raphael Wild on Unsplash
Step 5: Serve others
It's easy to dwell on our own problems when unexpectedly starting new chapters in life. Another way to redirect this negative mindset is to serve others.
Call or text a friend, make a meal for someone who's down on their luck, offer to visit, or go shopping for someone who cannot get out and do it themselves.
When you spend time focused on others, it's very easy to forget about your own problems. So find ways to show kindness and serve others in every opportunity that you get.
As you can see, when life gives you lemons, using these five steps it's fairly straightforward to create lemonade as you’re starting a new chapter in life. So don't panic. Instead, take a deep breath, say a prayer, and head willingly into your new direction.
It doesn't have to be painful. In fact with the right mindset, could truly lead you into One Exceptional Life.
Action item from Wendy: Grab your free PDF today: 5 Steps to Unlocking Peace in the Storms of Life
Reach Wendy by clicking on her website or social media listing below:
Website: One Exceptional Life and The Shop at One Exceptional Life
Facebook:
Free FB group: Women Living Exceptionally with Joy and Jesus
