629 The Power of Hope to Heal with Elizabeth Smart
b'\\u201cIt\\u2019s not what happens to you that defines who you are, it\\u2019s ultimately your decisions.\\u201d - Elizabeth Smart\\nThere are a lot of heartbreaking things that happen in this world. I\\u2019m sure you have your own stories.\\nBeing a victim doesn\\u2019t end with the event. It continues on for a lifetime.\\nIn the end, you have no control over what happened to you. There\\u2019s no going back. What you do have control over is the decisions you make on the other side -- how you let these tragedies affect you.\\nYou need to not only stay strong but also learn to forgive.\\nWhen I say this, I say it from personal experience. I have gone through abuse when I was younger, and I understand how it can disrupt you to your core.\\nBut forgiveness isn\\u2019t for them. It\\u2019s for you. Forgiveness doesn\\u2019t mean what happened is ok. It doesn\\u2019t mean you let go of what happened and consider everything to be just fine. It doesn\\u2019t eliminate what happened.\\nForgiveness is about allowing yourself to move forward as a better person. It\\u2019s about growing, rather than letting these events disrupt your life anymore. It\\u2019s about becoming stronger and learning from the situation to help others.\\nThere is no one who knows this better than today\\u2019s guest on The School of Greatness: Elizabeth Smart.\\nIf you haven\\u2019t heard of Elizabeth Smart, she was kidnapped by complete strangers at the age of 14 and held captive for 9 months. She endured nearly every terrible thing you can imagine.\\nToday, Elizabeth is a NYT best-selling author and has dedicated her life to bringing empowerment to survivors and awareness to these crimes.\\nOn this episode, we discuss the biggest lessons she\\u2019s learned about forgiveness, her definition of hope, the importance of owning your story, and the biggest lesson she learned from her captors.\\nDiscover all of that and much more, on Episode 629.\\nWhat\\u2019s been the biggest lesson about forgiveness for you? (6:23)\\nIf you could go back to that day would you wish it didn\\u2019t happen, or do you feel like you\\u2019re better off because of what you learned? (10:42)\\nWhat was the feeling when you saw your family for the first time? (12:32)\\nDo you feel like you\\u2019re still healing today? (16:20)\\nWhat if you feel there is no hope? (17:32)\\nDoes someone who commits these crimes have no hope for a meaningful life? (19:26)\\nIs there anything that you\\u2019ve given up hope on? (25:03)\\nDo you believe in people? (27:42)\\nWhat\\u2019s the reason to keep going when things are dark? (29:18)\\nIf what we go through doesn\\u2019t define us, what does define us? (32:09)\\nHow long it took Elizabeth to forgive and move on (9:46)\\nThe biggest fear for Elizabeth during her abduction (12:00)\\nWhat gave her hope while being held captive (14:13)\\nHer definition of hope now (16:46)\\nThe difference between a collective community having hope and a single person having hope (24:38)\\nHow people can be more educated to not commit these crimes (25:52)\\nWhat Elizabeth wishes more people would do about owning our own stories (28:12)\\nThe biggest lesson that she learned from her captors (29:35)\\nPlus much more...'