Reading: Reinventing after Tragedy with Laura Dinsmore

Laura Dinsmore had the perfect life. Then a drunk driver killed her husband and left her alone with a two-year-old child. “Responsibility moved me forward,” she says. Join Lesley in discussion with Dinsmore, who explains how visualization and “flipping negative self-talk” helped move her through several reinventions and finally to Founder, President and CEO of Quadrant Health Strategies.

Laura’s Top Tips for Reinvention

1. Visualize the future you want.
One quick example is that one time, my daughter and I, we had very little money, so we were sharing TV dinners because that’s all we could afford at times. And I realized we were out of toothpaste, and I was like, ‘oh, no, I just need some toothpaste.’ You know and we were going paycheck to paycheck. And as I’m thinking, ‘I’ve gotta get toothpaste,’ I go to my mailbox and guess what was in the mail? Sample toothpaste. So when you’re thinking about where you want to be, then make that into a vision you can see yourself in, and then you can see yourself doing that. And keep that visualization up for as long as you need to until it becomes real for you. And that’s something that just might work for you — it worked for me.

2. Let yourself be optimistic.
With a positive outlook I think you can navigate barriers and setbacks a little bit easier. Part of what you need to do is to really think about your risks, think them through of course, and know the pros and cons, but don’t be afraid to fail. You can get up again. It’s been done years and years where people have taken risks and succeeded.

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