After years of injury and needing help, the speaker became a vocational rehabilitation counselor. Helping others with disabilities restored their confidence and sense of purpose, turning their own suffering into a way to serve.
Chapters
How does one find meaning in suffering, Gary? Well, the way I found it is the fact that there was still a lot I can do, not only with my life to make a success out of it, but that I was still in a position where I could help others. And eventually, after many years, I was able to get a job as a vocational rehabilitation counselor. And I was finally, after years of being injured and receiving so much help, to be able to give some of it back to other individuals who were working very hard to deal with their own disability. And that made a huge difference. It helped improve my self-confidence, my self-esteem, my feelings of self-worth. And when I saw that I could make a difference in their lives and to encourage them to go on and work hard and deal with their adversity and rise above it, that made me feel so much better about myself and the situation I was in.