Turning a Negative into a Positive: What Stands in the Way Can Become the Way

“As soon as I close my eyes to get a breath in, I see my wife, Ann’s, face… and I’m like, ‘I’m not dying on a f*cking parking lot!’” 

This is what Lt. Brian Murphy thought on August 5th, 2012, when one man chose to commit violence on a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Lt. Murphy was the first on the scene. He engaged the gunman and ended up taking 15 shots to his body. 

Lt. Murphy would not only survive this, but he would also go on to tell his story and the story of the victims.  

Into Lt. Murphy’s Mind

What goes through the mind of someone facing death itself? Hopefully, no one reading this will need to experience that until their time. But it begs the question, what went through Lt. Murphy’s mind as he fought for survival? 

He recently appeared on the podcast, What’s Your 1 More to talk about his experience. He said that his mind may have been what saved his life.

To control his mind, the moment the shooter paused to reload, he closed his mouth and focused on breathing normally. 

Determined not to lose his life like this, he worked his way back to his squad car. The shooter’s pause was instantaneous, but for Lt. Murphy, time slowed as his mind sped up. 

When his partners came and put the gunman down and went to his aid, his survival instincts kicked in. He said, in his mind, were a couple of things: his wife, who he was meant to go on his honeymoon with soon, and his subordinates. Notice something significant here. None of the things on his mind was about death or pain. 

When faced with fighting for his life, Lt. Murphy controlled the inner chaos by capturing his thoughts, breathing, and fixing his mind of control. This is what ultimately would save his life. 

What Are the Takeaways from This Experience

What should have ended Lt. Murphy’s life became his way of sharing his experience and wisdom with the world. Rather than give up, he fought for his life and took literal bullets to protect others. What stood in his way became a way. The biggest lesson we should take away from this is that resilience, and mental control can overcome pain and adversity. 

We all face difficulties in life. Most of us will (God willing) never have to experience something this traumatic. However, that doesn’t make it any less important. How you face pain will decide if you grow or give up. 

Lt. Murphy said that if you control your breathing and inner chaos during something traumatic, you will, in turn, control the body’s response. He also says that doing this can even prevent experiencing PTSD after the fact. 

This is the secret to turning a negative into a positive. You can’t avoid pain, but you CAN choose to let it become your power. You don’t know what you’re capable of until you face your absolute limit. 

Final Thoughts

Your mind and how you control it will determine the outcome of whatever you’re facing. While it may not change the external pressures, it can 100% make you more resilient and able to handle more difficult challenges. 

As Lt. Murphy said in his interview, “You’re not changing the end game. We’re all going to die. It’s how we live that separates us. What is it that you can do every day that’s going to make your life a little bit better than the day before?” I’ll leave you with that question. What are the simple things you can do daily to build yourself up to be just a little bit stronger than the day before?