#334: Transform Your Challenges into Stepping Stones for Personal Growth as Inspired by Kaley Z

It's episode 334.

Yo.

Are you ready to flip the script on life?

Cause those bad days, they're just doors to better days.

And that's exactly what we do here at grit, grace and inspiration.

Your host, Kevin Lowe, he's been flipping the script on his own life, turning over 20 years of being completely blind into straight up inspiration, motivation and encouragement just for you.

So kick back, relax, and let me introduce you to your host, Kevin.

Hello.

In the next few minutes, im going to unpack for you three of my biggest takeaways that I gained from my recent interview with the amazing Kaylee Z.

If you happen to catch her episode, well, you already know how amazing it was, how many tangible takeaways we can all gain from her own story.

But today, were going to break it down.

I got three that could potentially be a game changer.

That these aren't just meaningless words or some type of cute little saying, the next cool bumper sticker.

No, these are hard fought truths that somebody only in Kaylee Z's shoes could understand, could teach us because she's a woman who was diagnosed with miss at only twelve years old and she battled through it until, well, she learned how to heal herself.

And of course, my friend, if you're loving today's content and you didn't listen to my interview with Kaylee Z, well, then you really have no choice but to go back and listen because she is amazing, her story is incredible, and the insights she has to share with you are absolutely mind blowing.

Her episode was episode 333.

Just go into today's show notes and find it or in your podcast app of choice.

It's right under today's episode.

All right, so let's start with my first takeaway that I want to share with you.

And it was a mindset shift that Kaylee spoke about.

She shared that life is about living through challenges.

It's about allowing the challenges to help you grow, to help you expand, to help you become the person you are now.

The important thing to realize here is that what Kaylee is saying in my interpretation is that challenges, they're necessary.

We try it with all our might to avoid hard times.

We don't want bad stuff to happen.

We don't want to be challenged.

But the fact is true is that in order for us to become the best versions of us, we have to endure challenges.

So what I want you to understand here is that I want you to start to view your challenges not as punishments, they're not even roadblocks, but rather they're stepping stones.

And these stepping stones, the challenges you endure, theyre just getting you to the person that youre meant to become.

And the fact is that were all going to face challenges, many challenges.

When Kaylie Z was diagnosed with miss at twelve years old, dont think that was the only challenge she would ever endure afterwards.

My gosh, no, its the same with anybody.

We all have challenges.

Too many it seems.

But if we change our mindset, we start to view challenges as stepping stones.

Help us to give it all a little bit more meaning, a little bit more significance.

And ultimately, it all just helps to shape you into the amazing person that you are.

The next absolutely fascinating thing that Kaylee shared with us is that on this journey of trying to figure out how she could manage the symptoms brought on by miss, she realized something.

She began to understand that stress would worsen her symptoms.

And so therefore, well, you think it sounds easy?

Well, if stress makes it worse, then just stop being stressed.

Well, I don't know if you've ever just told yourself, hey, you know what, I'm just not going to be stressed today.

Probably doesn't work so well.

It definitely doesn't work so well if you tell somebody else in your life, hey, listen, you have nothing to be stressed about.

Don't ever say that to anybody because it's going to end badly for you, I promise.

But the fact is true is that Kaylee was on a mission to figure out how she could control the stress when she started to feel her body becoming too stressed.

Find tools and techniques of how to eliminate that stress.

It's when she shared with us about the tapping technique, something that, to be quite honest, I thought was just total foo foo talk.

Like, how does that really even work?

How is it even possible?

And yet she's loving proof of its significance.

The tapping technique.

Amazing, amazing stuff.

Matter of fact, I'll drop a link in today's show notes where you can check out the free tapping app that Kaylee recommended to us during her interview.

But here's the whole thing that I want you to take away from this, all of this isn't just true for Kaylee.

It applies to all of us.

Our emotions, our feelings, our anxieties, our stress.

They have an impact on us.

They have an impact mentally and physically.

So if you can find ways to learn how to manage your stress, well, you're going to be better off in life.

And if you want to take it to another level, look at Kayleigh, you figure it out.

How to manage that stress, to deal with it.

Well, my gosh, you can cure a lifelong disease, something that had plagued her for most of her childhood.

It's powerful stuff here.

This idea of us having the ability within our own bodies to heal whatever is wrong.

It worked for Kaylee.

So I say, why can't it work for you?

My final big takeaway that I want to bring your attention to happened late in the conversation with me and Kaylee.

So again, if you did listen, but you didn't listen all the way through to our interview, well, you need to go back and you need to finish it.

Because just like the best movies, of course, the best part is at the end.

And that was exactly the case with our conversation.

Through Kaylee sharing her story and Kaylee turning the table and starting to ask me some questions, we realized something really profound.

Me and Kaylee understood that we both had a connection, that if we could use what we been through, me becoming blind, her being diagnosed with MS, if we could use what we've been through to be a benefit to others, then we have to believe that it's all been worth it.

So the takeaway for you is that I want you to realize that your struggles have the potential of being your greatest gift to the world.

These struggles, the things that you hate, the things that you wish never happened, they might just be the lifeline you needed to reach out to others, to help others, to make a monumental impact in the world.

In your neighborhood, you take it as big or as small as you want.

But the fact is true is that with a simple mindset shift, with beginning to find the opportunities hidden inside of our challenges, we can begin to figure out how we can turn the bad into good.

So with that said, let me review your challenges, your opportunities for you to grow, for you to expand, for you to become the best version of you.

Your mind and body, well, they're one, so take care of one, and it's going to benefit the other.

You focus on eliminating that stress like Kaylee, and look what it did for her.

And then, of course, your struggles, your challenges, they can turn into your life's purpose.

You flip the script, turning what was bad into something for good.

And that, my friend, is how we make an impact in the world.

So to end, I want to leave you with a question.

Is, what challenge are you facing right now?

What are you dealing with today?

And whatever that is, remove yourself from it.

Put yourself on the outside looking in.

I want you to try to figure out, how can we make good come out of it?

How are you going to grow?

What are you learning?

What are you turning into?

What is this challenge doing for you?

The positive.

Now, maybe that seems a little far fetched because I understand there's some hard stuff that we go through in life.

Sometimes it takes a while for me becoming blind.

It took a long time for me to ever be able to say that it was for any type of good.

But give yourself time, give yourself space, and give yourself a break.

Because one day, I promise you, you'll be able to look back and understand how it all fits together.

And with that, I want to remind you, if you ever want to talk, if you want to take this podcast to another level and just schedule a virtual coffee date, we can talk over the phone.

We can meet over Zoom, whatever your style.

There's a link in the show notes.

Every episode there's a link in the show notes.

So go down there and check out the show notes book a time for us to talk.

Or hey, if you don't want to do that and you just have a comment or a question, well, there's also a link for you to send me a private voice message.

Anyway you want to do.

It is fine with me.

I just want to be sure that me and you can connect and I can bring as much value to your life as I can.

And with that, my friend, I hope you've enjoyed today's episode.

I know I have.

And I can't wait to see you in our next episode.

Remember, every Tuesday and Thursday morning right here in your favorite podcast app of choice.