You Can't Change Your Past, But You Can Rewrite Its Meaning

Ever felt like your past defined you? That the broken pieces couldn't be put back together? That's exactly where I found myself after my brother's death left a blanket of grief over every Christmas, after a divorce that unraveled 21 years of trying, after losing a 24-year career, and after my mother's sudden passing left me reeling.

Then came that February day – a car accident, a bridge, and a plunge into icy water that should have ended everything. Instead, it whispered a truth I'd forgotten: my story wasn't over. That near-death experience became the quiet awakening that changed everything.

For decades, I'd been that little girl from Minnesota who learned to shrink herself to survive, who gave everything to her daughters while keeping nothing for herself. I carried the heavy, invisible belief that I wasn't worthy – until life cracked me open and forced me to rebuild. At 58, I launched a coaching business, became a bestselling author, started this podcast, found a relationship where I feel truly seen, and even got my dog Dax who shows me what unconditional love really means.

This transformation taught me something powerful that I want to share with you: you may not get to rewrite what happened to you, but you absolutely get to rewrite the meaning you give it. You are not broken. You are not too much. You are in the becoming. This season of Unleash Your Inner Radiance is for anyone ready to rewrite their story, one choice at a time.

Ready to start? Try this journal prompt: What part of your journey have you been afraid to look at, and how could you begin to rewrite it with love and compassion? Connect with me on Instagram @ChangeyourLifewithLisa and share your before-and-after that you're working toward. Remember – you are radiant, resilient, and absolutely unstoppable.

Chapters

• 0:57 Welcome to Inner Radiance
• 2:08 Breaking Points and Defining Moments
• 5:04 From Broken to Becoming
• 8:24 The Power to Rewrite Meaning
• 10:14 Journal Prompt and Closing Thoughts

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:29

Welcome back, beautiful souls, to Unleash your Inner Radiance. I'm your host, lisa Dorn, your Catalyst, life, wellness and Transformation Coach, and I am so very glad that you guys are here. If you are listening to this episode, chances are you've lived some life, right, I am 58 years old, so I've lived a lot of life, but you've also had moments that cracked you open, that maybe had you question your worth, your self-worth, your strength, your confidence, your path and maybe even your faith. And if you have ever looked at your past and thought, I can't change this, you're absolutely right about that. You can't change it. You can't change anything that has happened to you, and, trust me, my story is quite the story, but guess what? You can rewrite it, and that's exactly what this new season of this podcast is all about. I'm, like, so excited about it.

Speaker 1: 1:29

So let's talk first about breaking points, because you know people often ask me, lisa, where did your journey really begin? And while I could point to any number of moments, it really started in the spaces that no one saw, in the grief that blanketed my family every Christmas after my baby brother, michael passed away, in the financial stress that made money feel like a monster under the bed, or even in the way that I learned to shrink myself to survive, to shrink myself to survive. You know that little girl from Coon Rapids, minnesota. She never stopped trying but she stopped believing that she was worthy. I carried that belief, that quiet, heavy, invisible belief, for decades Through my teenage years, into my marriage, into motherhood. I literally gave everything in me to my daughters and I didn't know how to give any of it to myself. So we all have defining moments in our lives and let me walk you through a few of the moments that changed everything for me, and let's see if any of them you can relate to. So a divorce that unraveled 21 years of trying, a job loss after 24 year career that left me feeling absolutely invisible. It left me feeling so lost and hard to find myself. The death of my mother that was very sudden, it was brutal and unprocessed and it took me a long time to come to terms with it and process it. I don't really think at the time I actually mourned her. And then came that February day that brought me face to face with my mortality a car accident, a frozen day, a bridge and a plunge into icy water. And somehow, by God's grace, we survived that day. But also, something inside of me changed that day and it's taken me a while to really understand that change and to come to terms with that change, because it wasn't clarity at all. It was like a quiet awakening. It's really weird, it's like a little whisper that said Lisa, your story isn't over, start writing the next chapter. So I did. Now, if we go back and talk about being broken, we can talk about being broken and going from broken to becoming right, because since then I've been rebuilding and I want you guys to go on the journey and rebuild too. I've embraced what I once avoided like really avoided. I have embraced self-worth. I have embraced forgiveness. I have a spiritual reconnection and the scary, a beautiful voice to start again.

Speaker 1: 6:12

At 58 years old. I launched my business Change your Life with Lisa Coaching a couple years ago. I became a best-selling author last year and I stepped into the podcast space, scared but determined. Right, I know I took a little break recently. I'm coming up on my dad's birthday on August 20th, and that is the first day, two years ago, that I put out my first trailer. So I did it on his birthday and he has since passed, but nonetheless, that is just a special day. So I'm coming up on two years.

Speaker 1: 7:06

I'm very scared Still. I still question who's going to listen to me? Do I have things to say to people? But I think I do. And then recently I partnered with Nueva and became a founding partner right, a founding partner, wow. Founding member. Founding partner, founding member because I truly believe that wellness comes from the inside out, and wellness that works, you need to do it from the inside out. It's not just for your body, but it's for your life and you know what else. I'm finally in a relationship where I feel safe and seen. And then I got my dog Dax. He reminds me daily what unconditional love looks like. So I am learning to live with joy again, not in spite of my story, but because of it.

Speaker 1: 8:20

So I want to put an invitation out to you guys. Here's what I want to leave you with today. I want to leave you with today. You may not get to rewrite what happened to you, but you can absolutely get to rewrite the meaning that you give it. You are not broken, you are not too much, you are in the becoming, and if you are ready to take one small step toward that version of yourself, the one who knows her worth, who forgives, who dares to dream again, then you are in the right place.

Speaker 1: 9:10

This season of Unleash your Inner Radiance is for you, the woman rewriting her story, one choice at a time. So, as we come to the close of this episode, I want to give you guys a journal prompt for this week. What part of your story have you been afraid to look at and how could you begin to rewrite it with love and compassion? You want me to give that to you again. I'll also drop it in the show notes. What part of your journey have you been afraid to look at and how could you begin to rewrite it with love and compassion? If this episode lit something inside of you up, please share it. Please take me on social my Instagram is at Change your Life with Lisa and tell me your before and after that you're working towards that you're working towards Until next time. I want you to remember. You can't change what happened, but you can absolutely rewrite your story and I'm here to walk with you every step of the way, because you are radiant, you are resilient and you, my friend, are unstoppable.