Rise and Lead
Rise and Lead
How to Turn Your Pain Into Your Purpose with Benjamin Lundquist - RAL 89
On this episode, How to Turn Your Pain Into Your Purpose , Benjamin helps you acknowledge the pain of what you've been through, find hope through a simple plan to process your pain points and start healing, and teaches you how to leverage your pain for purpose. You clicked on this episode because you have been through some very painful things in life, and Benjamin wants to encourage you that you can use that pain to help other people. What if the pain you carry could be the very catalyst for your greatest purpose? This teaching unravels this profound concept, drawing from the powerful insights of Viktor Frankl and stories of those who have turned their struggles into strengths. In this heartfelt episode, Benjamin opens up about the loss of my sister to cancer, exploring how our deepest sorrows can lay the groundwork for leadership and personal growth. By embracing our responsibility to heal, we unlock the possibility to transform pain into a force for good, creating a legacy that resonates beyond our own lives.
Episode Quote:
"You know this,—pain does not discriminate, but neither does purpose. The key lies in how you respond to that pain and what you do with your pain over time."
This episode, like all Rise and Lead Podcast episodes, is highly practical and motivating. Don't forget to subscribe to the Rise and Lead Podcast to ensure you get notified when new episodes release every month. When you share about the podcast, make sure and tag @benjaminlundquist, and he'll always try and give you a re-post. Remember, the best time to rise and lead is now!
You are completely accepted, you are extremely valuable, you are eternally loved and you are totally forgiven. Start moving forward from that truth. What happened to you may not have been your fault, but the path forward is your responsibility. You have a whole life ahead of you. What are you going to do with the gift of life that you have been given? What you need to do is get with God and get with the right people and start moving in a healing direction. Find a community where you can be vulnerable about what you have been through.
Speaker 1:Welcome to Rise and Lead. I'm Benjamin Lundquist, and this podcast is all about personal growth and leadership. Thank you for listening and for being a part of our Rise and Lead community. We're a community of leaders who are passionate about growth, leadership and expanding our impact on the world. On this episode, we're gonna talk about how to turn your pain into your purpose. I'm gonna help you acknowledge the pain of what you have been through, find hope through a simple plan to process your pain points and start healing, and teach you how to leverage your pain for purpose.
Speaker 1:You clicked on this episode because you have been through some very painful things in your life and I want to encourage you that you can use that pain to help other people. Often, that's the missing component of healing. You have to do something positive with the negative. You can use it for good, which is incredibly good for you and good for others. That's what this episode is all about. I'm glad you're here. I know there is more purpose in your life than you are experiencing right now. The Rise and Lead podcast is designed specifically to motivate and equip you to live your greatest life with maximum impact. We are going to find out what makes great leaders great and how you can start growing yourself, rise, expanding your impact, lead and living the life you have been created to live. We are stronger together and I want to personally invite you to be a Rise and Lead partner in spreading the word about this podcast and all the episodes that will follow, so together we can reach more people. Remember to subscribe so you can get all the episodes that release every month.
Speaker 1:Provide a rating I'm always going for five stars. If you think Rise and Lead deserves five stars, I would greatly appreciate that. Leave a written review If you haven't done so already. Your reviews they make a huge difference and finally, share about Rise and Lead with your family, your friends and your social media network. Screenshot this episode on how to turn your pain into purpose and send it to someone, or text someone the episode link. You are helping other people rise to their next level by connecting them to an episode. Rise to their next level by connecting them to an episode. And when you share about the podcast as a social media post or story, make sure you tag me and I will always try and give you a repost. All your support, the input, ratings, reviews and shares help our team to continue creating a better podcast experience to serve great leaders like you.
Speaker 1:If this is your first time listening, I'm so glad you're here. I know your time is incredibly valuable. I would encourage you to go back and listen to the Rise and Lead Foundation episode so you can hear more about my story and the five foundational pillars of the podcast. We are about ready to dive in. I like to start with prayer, so let's pray together, god. Many of us are sitting on pain with no clue how to heal from it or what to do with it. It's heavy and the path forward doesn't make a lot of sense. Use this episode to help someone heal and find a whole new perspective for what they have been through and what can happen next. In your name, we pray amen, lean into this teaching. I think this was meant for you.
Speaker 1:Today's topic is a game changer, a life changer and a legacy changer. Today, we are talking about something we've all faced at one point or another, and that's pain, but not just pain how to turn your pain into your purpose. Yes, your deepest struggles, your toughest seasons and your hardest battles can become the very foundation of your purpose. We're about to dive deep into how you can take what feels broken and rebuild it into something stronger, something meaningful, something that will inspire not only you but everyone around you. Here's a hard truth Pain is universal.
Speaker 1:Nobody and I mean nobody goes through life unscathed. It could be the loss of a loved one, a financial setback, a betrayal, a failure, or even your own inner battles with self-doubt or fear. We all carry something, including me. It was five months ago this week that I lost my sister to a rare form of cancer, a condition that she battled for nine years. The end of last year was incredibly painful, and I'm still processing how I can and will use that experience to help others. You know, this pain does not discriminate, but neither does purpose. The key lies in how you respond to that pain over time and what you do with that pain. Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor and author of the book Man's Search for Meaning, said this when we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.
Speaker 1:I want to tell you that pain is not your prism. It's your potential for purpose. The question isn't if you'll face pain. The question is what will you do with it. Will you let it break you or will you let it build you? You have no control over what has already happened in your life. You have to give those things to God. It doesn't mean that you don't reflect, process and continue learning from your life. You have to give those things to God. It doesn't mean that you don't reflect, process and continue learning from your past, but it means exchanging the control we don't have over the past for the control we do have in the present and the future. Things happened to you and around you. What will you choose to do next? You can do nothing that's an option and continue reliving what you can't change, or you can learn and leverage what happened for purpose. As we talk about turning your pain into your purpose.
Speaker 1:I want to give you a few thoughts about healing. Healing is not a destination. Healing is a direction. Let me say that again Healing is not a destination. Healing is a direction, a direction toward being able to talk about what you have been through and use what you have been through to encourage and empower other people. Healing is not approaching your future as if your past didn't happen. Healing is beginning to understand what did happen, understand that what happened does not define you and understand how you can begin to leverage the bad that you've experienced for the good of others. No, I don't know what you've been through, but I wanna remind you that you are chosen by God. Right now, you are completely accepted, you are extremely valuable, you are eternally loved and you are totally forgiven. Let me say that again you are completely accepted, you are extremely valuable, you are eternally loved and you are totally forgiven. Start moving forward from that truth. What happened to you may not have been your fault, but the path forward is your responsibility. You have a whole life ahead of you. What are you going to do with the gift of life that you have been given? What you need to do is get with God and get with the right people and start moving in a healing direction.
Speaker 1:Find a community where you can be vulnerable about what you have been through. When you shine light on the darkness of pain, it loses its power. When you shine light on the darkness of pain, it loses its power. There is a reason why Jesus calls himself the light of the world. Find some voices of wisdom and experience who can help you make sense of what you have been through. You are not broken and messed up. You have simply been through some things that you don't understand yet. Clarity builds confidence.
Speaker 1:For some of you, the first step might look like sharing your pain with one other trusted person. Initially, you don't need someone giving you advice and counsel. You simply need to let the pain out in a productive and healthy way. Start there, move toward a community, get clarity, do the hard healing work, as long as it takes, and your entire perspective will start to change. Let's talk about perspective.
Speaker 1:When you're in the middle of pain, it's so easy to feel stuck. Can you relate to that? Like the walls are closing in and there's just no way out? But here's a practical, research-backed strategy called Reframing your Narrative. Dr Martin Siegelman, the father of positive psychology found in his research that people who thrive after setbacks share one thing in common they have an optimistic explanatory outlook. That means they look at their challenge as temporary, specific and external, not permanent, pervasive or personal. For example, instead of saying I'm a failure, you reframe it to this was a tough season, but it's temporary and it's teaching me something valuable I'm going to get stronger. I am not breaking. God is building me.
Speaker 1:Remember you can't always control what happens to you, but you can control how you interpret it and how you shape the narrative. The narrative, your narrative, needs to move you forward, and how you interpret it determines how you act on it. And how you act on it and respond to it changes everything. Some of you are stuck because you're believing a narrative about yourself that is simply not true. God never said that about you. The people who love and know you would never say that about you, and you would never say that about someone else you are wanting to encourage and empower. If you want to change your life and start heading in a new direction, you need a new narrative. And how do you shift your narrative? You need new words, you need new people and you need new spaces and new places. The truth is, nothing changes if nothing changes.
Speaker 1:Now that we've touched on acknowledging your pain, moving toward healing and reframing, let's talk about how to turn your pain into your purpose. And when I say purpose, I'm not talking about starting a podcast, writing a book, building a ministry or launching a business. These are all fine if that's what you want to do, but I'm talking about how do you live your life in a way that intentionally uses what you have been through to encourage and empower other people. Here are our three practical steps to help you turn your pain into your purpose. Step number one reflect on your pain points. Step number two identify who needs your story. And finally, step number three, take action and share.
Speaker 1:Step number one reflect on your pain points. Take a moment to think about the moments in your life that broke you or the moments that made you feel like you were breaking. Write them down. What did you learn? What strengths did you develop as a result of what you went through? This is where self-awareness begins. Research shows that journaling about emotional experiences can reduce stress and increase well-being. In fact, a study published in Advances in Psychiatric Treatment found that expressive writing helps people process traumatic events and find meaning in those events. So don't just shove your pain in a box. Open it up, examine it and extract the lessons.
Speaker 1:Your struggles are often your best teachers. Step number two identify who needs your story. There's someone out there right now who needs to hear what you have been through. Maybe it's a single mom trying to make ends meet, a young professional doubting their path, or someone battling addiction or anxiety. Whatever your struggle, there's a community out there waiting for your voice. Let me say that again Whatever your struggle has been, there's a community out there waiting for your voice.
Speaker 1:When you take your eyes off of your pain and focus on helping others, something powerful happens. It's no longer just about your healing. It's about longer just about your healing. It's about their hope. And finally, step number three take action and share, and you know I talk about this all the time on the Rise and Lead podcast. We are a community of action. The rubber needs to meet the road. This is the step where most people stop. They reflect, they feel inspired, but they're afraid to take action. Let me remind you, your story isn't just for you. It's for the people who need to see what's possible on the other side of their pain, whether it's speaking, mentoring, creating content or even having a vulnerable conversation with someone in your inner circle. Start somewhere, please start somewhere. Somewhere. Please start somewhere. Your courage to share will have a ripple effect that is bigger and farther than you can imagine.
Speaker 1:I want to ground this idea of turning your pain into your purpose with some examples. Think about Oprah Winfrey, one of the most influential leaders of our time, who faced abuse, poverty and rejection at an early age, but she didn't let those experiences define her. Instead, she used them as fuel to build a platform of empowerment. Or consider JK Rowling, who wrote Harry Potter. As a single mom living on welfare, she said her rock bottom became the solid foundation upon which she rebuilt her life. These aren't just success stories, they're purpose stories. Or even think about Joseph in the Bible, who was left for dead, wrongfully accused, imprisoned, yet chose to be faithful and fruitful to his current opportunity and assignment. Huge lesson in there about our faithfulness to all opportunities and assignments. He was elevated to a position of great power and took all that pain and saved a nation from starvation, and saved a nation from starvation, including his own family, who had betrayed him. Joseph's pain became his purpose.
Speaker 1:I mentioned this earlier about losing my sister to cancer five months ago. To be honest, I'm still processing what happened and how to use this experience and these lessons as a way to help others. Will it bring her back? No, but it will help carry her legacy forward and it'll help me heal, and it will help empower and encourage others. You may find me in the next few years working more with kids who suffer from rare forms of cancer or coming alongside families suffering from a similar experience.
Speaker 1:Turning your pain into purpose doesn't have to look like saving a nation, but it can look like impacting one other person. It can be as simple as choosing to share your story with one other person instead of keeping quiet. You are finally going to share, finally going to speak up and finally going to let someone see the chapters of your story that you closed off phrases. When you're interacting with people and looking for opportunities to share your story, tell me more about that, and I have been there too. No two stories are the same, but you have lessons that other people need to hear. Maybe it's the hope you give someone else that other people struggle too and that they're not alone, that relationship, job loss, dream, that died prayer you are still waiting on. There are lessons in all of it that can help others.
Speaker 1:Don't sit on your pain. Leverage your pain for purpose. Before we wrap up this episode, let's break down a few actionable steps that you could start doing this week. Number one journal about your pain. Take 15 minutes to write about a struggle you faced. Think about what did you learn and what strengths did you develop. Step number two share one lesson. Call a friend, post on social media or even write an anonymous blog. Share one thing you've learned from your pain that could encourage someone else. And step number three go serve someone.
Speaker 1:Find a way to turn your pain into service. Volunteer, mentor, or simply offer a listening ear to someone else who is struggling. Remember, purpose is found in service. Hear my heart on this. Your pain is not wasted, it's not meaningless, it's not a detour. It's the road that leads you to your purpose. God doesn't waste a single tear, a single heartbreak or a single sleepless night. He's using it all to mold you, refine you and position you for great impact. So today, choose to see your pain differently. Choose to believe that what broke you can also build you, and choose to share your story because someone, somewhere, is waiting for it. Keep showing up, keep healing, keep shining and keep serving other people. You can turn all of that pain into purpose.
Speaker 1:I hope this episode impacted and inspired you. Send me a DM and let me know. I read every message that comes in. Make sure you screenshot this episode, share it with someone and post it to your social media accounts. Don't forget to tag me so I can give you a repost. I know there is someone you know who needs to hear this episode. Thank you for sharing, subscribing and rating the podcast. Seriously, that means the world to me. Look for new episodes to release every month. You won't want to miss those. Thank you for taking the time to invest in yourself. You are worth it. Remember, the best time to rise and lead is now. Thank you.