"What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have," Oprah Winfrey.
Oprah speaks about what she knows for sure often. Indeed she has written a whole book about it. She has mastered the phrase in every sense of the word.
I first heard Oprah pose the question ‘What do you know for sure?’ in 2002 during an interview with the cast of ‘The Hours’. Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore are the guests. Superb actors.
What do I know for sure? The first thing I know for sure is that had I been asked this question years earlier my answers would have been vastly different to what they are now. Having lived through what I have, I know three things for sure.
The first thing is that nothing in life is certain, no matter how hard we work or what plans we have. Our future can change in a heartbeat, a fraction of a second, through no fault of our own. I certainly know that my life changed in that amount of time. Within seconds, my thoughts and concerns went from wondering what I would wear to work that day and where and with whom I would go out that night to wondering if I would survive the morning and if I did, whether I would spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair with or without legs.
The second thing I know for sure is that life goes on. It stops for nothing and no one. My world and my family’s world may have been turned upside down yet the world itself continues. My life, although now completely different, didn’t end and the world goes on. The sun still rises and sets. It doesn’t stop for me and it doesn’t stop for anyone else. No matter how great the tragedy, how much press it receives or how many lives it affects, the world still turns.
The third thing I know for sure is that the human spirit can overcome any adversity. I have seen and heard about misfortunes that should have broken and destroyed a human, yet people continue to stand tall on the other side of heartache and heartbreak. Two come to mind when I think of the indomitable human spirit. A woman called Laura who suffered burns to over 80
It is those three things that I know for sure. What do you know for sure?
Clare Sultmann is a wife, mother of 3 and the founder of Dear Molly.
As a survivor of a catastrophic accident, former barrister at
Recently I watched a commencement speech given by Admiral William H. McRaven, a retired U.S Navy Seal, in 2014 to the graduating class at the University of Texas. I was so intrigued listening to his speech which recounted 10 lessons he learned from his 6 months of gruelling, demanding, tiring and debilitating Navy Seal training. These 10 lessons not only apply to life as a Navy Seal, but it equally applies to the challenges that each and every one of us endure as human beings living in an uncertain world.
In July 2015, I had reached my goal of 1000 days straight being grateful. Once I had reached my goal I decided to aim for 10 years straight. I figured if Oprah could do it, then I could do it.
In a beautiful twist of fate, in the same year that I completed my 1000-day goal and set my new 10-year goal, Oprah happened to come to Brisbane on a speaking tour.
Oprah heard that I had completed a gratitude journal for 1000 days straight and during her show she asked me to stand up to talk about it.
COMMENTS
Please login or sign-up to add your comment.
Comments (2):
I have lived around tragedy and heartbreak for most of my working life. I often think as I pass someone in the street, "what is happening in your life"? We never know most of the time what someone else is going through because people do just keep pressing on regardless. You are the bravest person I've ever met Clare and no-one walking past you in the street would ever know what you have been through. It's good to know you have people around you who help you "keep punching on" while the world keeps on turning.. R
rmmrosiem - January 24, 2018
What I know for sure, in life our greatest challenges show us our strength. That all bad events eventually pass, it will get better. Being positive and grateful leads to being happier. Helping someone facing challenges is uplifting. I don't need a lot of stuff. My most precious legacy is my family.
MaryK - January 22, 2018