Sital Ruparelia

“I thought, I can either feel guilty about surviving, or I can do something positive that will help other people.”
Megan Blunt (Cancer Survivor)

This is 15 year old Megan Blunt from the UK. Megan is a cancer surviver who chose to use her experiences to produce an A to Z guide for children on how to deal with cancer. She turned a bad situation into an opportunity to do some good. She turned lemons into lemonade.

She couldn’t change the fact that she had cancer – that was her situation, her condition. But she chose to attach a very different meaning to her illness – a meaning that involved using her experience of cancer to help thousands of other young cancer sufferers better handle the stresses and pains of the illness.

Megan is one of the inspirational individuals that has been recognised by the “Pride of Britain Awards” in recent years. Pride of Britain celebrates the achievements of the remarkable unsung heroes who make our world a better place. It’s the biggest national event of its kind in the UK.
 
Megan’s story perfectly illustrates how it’s not what happens to you, but about the meaning you give to what happens to you that dictates your level of success.

Instead of focussing on her own pain, Megan chose to give her illness another meaning – that it was an opportunity for her to help other kids going through cancer and to help minimise their pain and suffering. She has in turn inspired me to write this blog post, and through the power of the internet, use her story to inspire you and other people around the world that follow this blog. All this from the decision of one young girl.

If a 15 a year old who has gone through chemotherapthy since the age of 12 can choose the meaning she gives to the pain from of a life threatening illness, what stops the rest of us doing the same with challenges that come our way…..?

So whatever ‘pain’ you’re suffering right now – whether it’s the pain associated with being out of work, the threat of job cuts hanging above your head, financial problems or health issues that arise from the ongoing stress you’re under – ask yourself these 3 questions now:

1. What meaning am I giving to this situation right now?

2. What’s a more empowering and inspiring meaning that I could choose to give this situation?

3. If I were to do choose that meaning, what would my response be? What actions would I take right now?

I know, I know…

It sounds like I’ve swallowed a self development manual hey!

But I don’t care. It may sound cheesy and it may sound ‘fluffy’ – but it’s absolutely true. It’s not what happens to you that is important – it’s your response to what happens to us. Central to that response is the meaning we choose to give to any given situation. Attaching a ‘we’re all doomed’ meaning to your situation ensures that you are doomed. Having a bigger, more empowering meaning on the other hand sets you up to potentially create some good from your situation – for you and for others.

So if you’re approaching the holiday season with a sense of worry, anxiety and pain due to the challenges you’re facing, think about the pain that young Megan would have gone through during her chemotherapy and how she was brave enough to turn her pain into a much bigger meaning.

Then ask yourself how you can do the same thing now. How you too can turn those lemons into lemonade……