I’ve made it a point not to watch those home video-type shows where an audience is laughing at other people’s pain. You know the type: someone goes plummeting down some stairs on a bike, slams into something and flips over their handlebars; or some unsuspecting man gets hit in his private area by a bat-swinging kid. Something just seems very wrong about laughing at their pain, so I usually don’t join in.

Perhaps this doesn’t apply to you and your perfect life, but metaphorically speaking, those videos remind me too much of my own life! If I rewind the video of my journey on this earth thus far, there are scores of things I could’ve, should’ve and would’ve done differently to avoid past trips, stumbles and downright crashes!

As a ghostwriter of many years, I’ve assisted numerous book authors who have overcome grief, despair and other challenges in the most graceful and admirable ways. Their published stories proved more therapeutic for themselves than perhaps they ever imagined.

I began asking myself, are these authors really any stronger than the next person sitting at home alone waddling in a personal storm? No, but I do believe they have discovered a valuable key to winning in life that anyone can adopt. They’ve learned that an amazing connection occurs between the heart and the mind when a person journals. That connection taps into a spiritual strength that transcends them to a level far above their problems or issues. On that level, there is resolve without regret; there is joy unspeakable; and there is wisdom beyond measure.