A crisis can be a turning point

Low moments can lead to new opportunities

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to recognize that a crisis can be
a turning point for the better. When we are stuck
in the bottom part of a narrative, it helps to

(00:25):
think of it as just that the bottom. There is
a different ending to the story, and the path to
that new ending is being formed right now. When you
think about the narrative arc of so many good stories,
many involve a person hitting rock bottom and then having
something good come out of that dark place. Think Jane

(00:48):
Eyre fleeing her beloved's house when she learns he is married,
and finding herself penniless, hungry, and without any family and friends,
and then making friends, learning of an inheritance, discover r
she does have family, and reuniting with the widowed Mr
Rochester in a marriage of equals. The biblical Joseph is
sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers and then

(01:10):
comes into political power in his new country, saving Egyptians
and his own family from starvation. Or even think of
someone like Danny Thomas, who was an aspiring entertainer struggling
to make a living. He prayed to St. Jude, patron
saint of lost causes, show me my way in life,
and then found his way professionally, becoming successful and founding St.

(01:34):
Jude Children's Research Hospital along the way. These are famous stories,
and sometimes we have them in our own lives. We
all hit bottom at some point or another. We lose jobs,
we lose businesses, relationships end. A disaster wipes out decades
of possessions, A serious illness throws everything up in the air.

(01:56):
Or yes, a pandemic can change so much of what
we've worked for, even expected and hoped for. Transitions, maybe
like moving to a new city, disrupt everything and can
leave us disoriented. But that doesn't need to be where
the narrative ends. The next time you find yourself in
a moment of crisis or loss, consider how the crisis

(02:19):
could become a turning point for good. How could the
seeds of success be planted right now? What forced change
is going to lead over time to something great. Conceptualizing
a crisis as a potential turning point and not as
a catastrophe helps us have a sense of agency and control.

(02:42):
It also prompts us to be intentional in shaping what
comes next. Rather than being consumed by the loss or
focusing on damage control. We can look ahead and learn
from the crisis. We can reshape our future to be
better than the past. There's a popular saying to never
waste a good crisis, or another version, no good crisis

(03:03):
should go to waste. While people sometimes sees this advice
in unfortunate ways when it comes to public policy in
our own lives, we can view it as a source
of hope. The pandemic forces a change in a business model,
but the new business model turns out to be one
you like better. An illness prompts you to clean house
in your life and keep only those people in activities

(03:25):
that bring joy. So if you find yourself in a crisis,
consider what you have to learn and how you can
make what's next for you even better than what you're
leaving behind. How can this crisis be a turning point?
How can it be rock bottom? Which means that everything
moving forward points up In the meantime, This is Laura,

(03:50):
Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
You can send me your tips, your questions or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

(04:10):
Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four, then
Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an
email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that
Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks
so much, I look forward to staying in touch. Before

(04:34):
Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For more
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