U.S. military suicide is at an all-time high according to the Pentagon Chief of Staff, General Peter Corelli, who told National Public Radio (NPR) on February 6, 2009 the Department of Defense is endeavoring to do everything it can to help soldiers.
Invite worldwide speaker and life-changing author Paul F. Davis to speak to your soldiers about suicide prevention & overcoming disappointment! Paul is the author of Breakthrough for a Broken Heart empowering us to overcome our disappointments and live our dreams!
RevivingNations@yahoo.com
407-967-7553
I am no stranger to battling thoughts of suicide. Raised by a retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel (my grandfather) and beloved grandmother, because my mom was an alcoholic and drug addict, I struggled immensely with feelings of inferiority as a boy growing up.
Such inward difficulties intensified when my father and step-mother moved me away from my grandparents, friends, and everything familiar during my junior-high-school days taking me out into the country, where I had not a single soul to play with, nor anything to do but do manual labor daily for my demanding step-mother.
When I was 12 years-old, I so hated my step-mother I wanted to kill myself as I couldn’t take it anymore. I used to pray, “God kill me, or kill her because I can’t live like this.”
Thankfully, I pulled myself together at a young age and told myself that I would make something of my life and overcome no matter what. Overcome I mightily did, breaking every limitation and becoming more than I ever dreamed of!
Ironically however after uplifting countless people throughout the planet and caring for my beloved grandparents in their old age, I went through yet another devastating setback when my wife of five years confessed to having had an affair while I was in Pakistan speaking for two weeks.
After my wife remained unrepentant and shunned attending counseling sessions to restore our marriage, I proceeded to get a divorce …but not before again dealing with thoughts of suicide and murder myself (neither of which I followed through on thankfully).
Through processing my personal pain during this tough time, I healed not only my own heart, but was able to relate to others better in the process. Undoubtedly adversity became for me a powerful university.
Truly tragedy strikes us all and often times unawares. How then shall we prepare for the unexpected and overcome feeling overwhelmed? These tough life questions I have mastered by reason of passing through the fiery furnace of affliction and crucible of pressure in my own life.
I know how to overcome feelings of loneliness, intense shame, guilt, remorse, and cross-cultural challenges. In fact after being celebrated throughout the world during my speaking engagements, I myself often felt deflated whenever I came back to the United States. Hence I understand how soldiers (brothers on the battlefield) feel when they return home to civilian life and struggle with the transition back to normalcy.
During my young adult life, I worked at the Emergency Room in Orlando, Florida, where I encountered numerous suicide attempts. Some people intentionally tried to kill themselves. I distinctly remember one man who had slit his wrists and was bleeding profusely. While he bled uncontrollably, he resisted admittance into the hospital. It was then I watched several hospital security guards and Orlando Police officers tackle him and force him to receive emergency medical treatment.
These images are forever burned in my heart and mind. I also witnessed many young adults, who were brought to the ER for substance abuse and drug overdose. When their parents later arrived emotionally frazzled and frantic, I assisted them into the ER to find their suffering (if not already dead) children.
If you or someone you know is currently struggling with suicide, here are some success secrets to help you overcome.
1. Be knowledgeable, wise, and compassionate.
Suicide prevention is no light, nor easy matter to address. A counselor, minister, or speaker doing so must have wisdom, tact, and compassion. The ability to sincerely listen and deeply feel the pain of others helps greatly. Otherwise people will not instill their trust, nor open their hearts to you.
2. Listen and learn about the internal battles those with suicide on their mind face.
People suffering with suicide need to transcend the internal battles they struggle with and be uplifted above the situations they feel overwhelmed by. In the case of soldiers battling often daily for their lives, the intensity of emotions is significantly increased and therefore demands extra attention.
3. Gently engage and ask questions delicately that probe deeper.
Gentle engagement, progressive enlightenment, and leading the way to steady self-awareness will catapult anyone struggling with suicide back into the light whereby they can see the forest from the trees and regain their ability to value life.
Furthermore here are some more powerful secrets to consider to nourish the love of life within a despairing and disappointed soul contemplating suicide.
4. Your past does not determine your future.
No matter how bleak or miserable your past may have been, you owe it to yourself not to let it define your present and future. Your best days and most blessed days are ahead of you!
What a tragedy it would have been for President Abraham Lincoln to have quit his pursuit of the presidency after he lost 7 political elections and thought himself to be an absolute embarrassment.
How sad it would have been for the authors of Chicken Soup for the Soul to have believed the rejection letters from 61 publishers who turned their book down, before they decided to self-publish and not listen to their critics.
Sylvester Stallone may not be a household name today had he listened to his critics and naysayers who refused to believe in his original movie and screenplay “Rocky”. Nevertheless against all hope, he continued to believe and persevered despite the odds.
Stories such as this are innumerable and countless. Therefore be encouraged and never let your past define your future.
5. You don’t have to figure everything out.
Life isn’t always easily understand. Curve balls come to us all, as sudden circumstances surprise and blindside us. Nevertheless as you stay the course and go forward despite your feelings and initial assessment of the situation, all will be well concerning you.
6. Trust your heart more than your head.
Listen to your heart when your head gets overly analytical and tries to discourage you. Regain your childlike heart and begin to believe again.
Your heart deep within will never mislead you. Yes, feelings of discouragement may come, but the spirit and heart within you is full of resurrection power to arise over every circumstance. Reconnect with your heart within and arise with a new spirit to win.
7. Run to the battle rather than from the battle.
Life is full of battles and challenges. If it doesn’t kill you, it just makes you stronger. Many are they who quit along the way and succumb to adverse pressure. Yet adversity is your best university. Therefore don’t allow adversity to crush you, but rather make you.
The crucible of life is where diamonds are formed within the fiery pressures of life. Know you are a diamond in the making if you are undergoing and experiencing any kind of pressure.
8. Let your mess become a message to somebody hurting more than yourself.
Encourage others less fortunate than you. If you have a roof over your head, food in your refrigerator, and transportation (even if just a bus) to get from point A to B, then you aren’t as bad off as you may think. Consider many suffering without these essential elements of survival in the third world. Consider the many physically impaired individuals without legs and arms in wheelchairs.
9. Find something to be thankful for.
Be thankful for the air you breathe, the water you drink, the roof over your head, the wonderful people in your life, the family and friends you possess, and the opportunities in front of you.
10. Forgive those who have wronged you and live free from bitterness.
Rather than growing bitter, become better. Learn from your life experience, mistakes, setbacks, and hardships. Be a warrior and a lover, who understands life isn’t always perfect. Be bold and courageous, choosing life over death.
Your life is always going to be celebrated and cherished by someone. Therefore guard your life and resist the temptation of quitting prematurely before you create your lifelong legacy.
Future generations are eager to see what you will do and say with your life. Don’t disappoint them. What will you be remembered for?
Nothing is more rewarding than imparting hope, restoring feeling, and moving people struggling with suicide back toward a bright future.
Remember someone in this world greatly loves, will celebrate, cherish, and happily await your arrival (or return) into their life. Therefore cherish your life, your most precious gift to give the world.
Invite worldwide speaker and life-changing author Paul F. Davis to speak to your soldiers about suicide prevention & overcoming disappointment! Paul is the author of Breakthrough for a Broken Heart empowering us to overcome our disappointments and live our dreams!
RevivingNations@yahoo.com
407-967-7553
Paul’s 17 life-changing books have landed him celebrity guest appearances on Fox News Radio, Investor’s Business Daily, and 3 times on Oprah & Friends.
Paul’s success & leadership secrets for soldiers are unparalleled and greatly empowering. Paul builds bridges cross-culturally, cultivating diversity awareness, while empowering soldiers to discover their destiny and live their dreams.
A master in NLP & life coaching; Paul’s humorous, fun, playful and transformative messages graciously challenge soldiers to ask themselves hard questions and be their personal best.
As a worldwide professional speaker who has touched more than 50 countries and 6 continents, Paul greatly appeals to the military and soldiers throughout the world. Paul was raised by his grandfather, a U.S. Army Retired Lt. Colonel, and his cousin is an Army Ranger and serves also in force recon in the Marines.
Truly, Paul empowers people to love passionately and live fearlessly as he has done so himself.
Paul worked at Ground Zero in NYC during 9/11; helped rebuild a home at the tsunami epicenter; comforted victims of genocide in Rwanda; spoke to leaders in East Timor during the war; inspired students & monks in Myanmar; promoted peace & reconciliation in Pakistan; and has been deep into rural Africa where villagers had never before seen a white man.
If you want a speaker to speak to your soldiers and prepare them mentally for the rigors of battle, look no further. Paul F Davis is a warrior able to uplift your soldiers for the challenges they face before and after combat.
