If fresh, new beginnings aren’t what comes to mind when you think about your divorce, think again. As difficult as uncoupling can be, you might just be on your way to realizing something beautiful — even from the most painful parting. Before you say that’s just not possible, consider these three divorcees who revisioned themselves and their lives post-divorce with amazing results.
Tibetan Buddhist Nun, inspirational teacher, and best-selling author, Pema Chodron, hadn’t even heard of Buddhism until after her husband came home and told her he was having an affair. Chodron was blindsided. She was so angry she picked up a rock and threw it at him. Later, her desire to let go of her anger and resentment led her to Buddhist study and, ultimately, a career that has helped millions of people overcome grief and loss.
Likewise, Linda Malys Yore set aside her career as a nurse when she married and happily became a stay-at-home mom. Then, at age 62, after 30 years of marriage, her husband asked for a divorce. Although she was already blogging about her travels, the dissolution of her marriage freed her to transform her passion for health and travel into a second career. “It has been a difficult road,” Yore says. “But I hope to share my story with others and inspire them that you can still live your best life after age 60.” Today, her blog, lindaontherun.com, has thousands of followers. And at age 67, she recently completed her second marathon!
Speaking of authors, just one year after her whirlwind marriage, Harry Potter creator Joanne Kathleen (JK) Rowlings found herself single, unemployed, and raising an infant daughter. She went on welfare and hit “rock bottom” before turning her emotional and financial turmoil into the wizardry world that has become a mega-best-selling fictional phenomenon. Today, in addition to being a billionaire, Rowlings is happily remarried with no regrets.
Bouncing back after divorce certainly takes time. For most people, healing after a painful break-up requires support from family and friends, lots of self-care, and professional guidance from a therapist and a skillful divorce attorney. But in time you may realize new goals and objectives that were closed off to you while you were in an unhappy relationship. Post-divorce success comes from becoming resourceful, stepping forward with courage, and becoming curious about the possibilities. “We do not need magic to change the world,” writes Rowlings in her memoir, Very Good Lives and the
Fringe Benefits of Failure. “We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.