No one likes to suffer loss or face troubling circumstances, yet painful times produce the most fertile learning soil. Think about it. When we are happy, we don't often ask "why" and desire things to change. We want things to stay as they are. We think quite the opposite when things don't go our way.
 
Pain is an opportunity for positive change. I'm often heard saying to my clients, "If you are in a terrible situation, you might as well use it as opportunity to learn something." What pain might you learn from today?
 
The next time you find yourself wondering "why me?", instead ask yourself the following questions and take time to write out your answers:

• What was my part in the situation?
• What does my response to the situation say about who I am? Do I need to change?
• How might this circumstance be used to prepare me for future endeavors?
• What core beliefs or values of mine are being challenged?
• How might what I believe need to change to more accurately reflect reality?

True transformation requires changing who you are so you can change what you do, and produces significant, lasting change. Transformation happens when we embrace what we don't enjoy and instead use those times as inner growth opportunities. 
 

To what life circumstance might you apply the above questions to today? What works for you? Share your thoughts in a comment below.