How Meeting TED* Transformed My Life

TED* Team · February 15, 2024

This week's blog is written by Sheri Lawrence, a Certified 3 Vital Questions® Trainer._________________________________________I am a strong, confident, and resilient Creator! I can say this now, as I approach my 12^th anniversary after being introduced to TED*. That was not always the case. As I reflect on the last many years, I am so very grateful for TED* and the many practitioners I have met along the path.

I am in awe of how my life has changed and the path I found through God and TED*. It’s astonishing that a fable told in 142 pages of David’s book has had such an impact on so many lives, including mine.

Twelve years ago, I worked for an entrepreneurial leader who was brilliant, but very challenging personally. I carried a lot of baggage from my past which was affecting how I viewed myself, my role at work, and life. I enrolled in a leadership course where TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic)® was introduced and I began my journey to leave all the baggage behind.

I’m certainly not alone in carrying baggage around, as all of us have things to deal with. What I didn’t realize is how all that baggage caused me to see myself as a Victim to what was happening all around me. Up to that point I had lived by the motto “don’t let your past define you” and thought I was doing a pretty good job at it—but boy was I wrong.

My past baggage clouded my view of how I saw everything. During the workshop I realized I viewed the world through the lens of the Dreaded Drama Triangle (DDT). My mother and father divorced when I was 5 and between ages 6 and 17 my mom remarried and divorced 3 more times. I left school in the 9^th grade to get away from the violence. I got my GED and moved to San Antonio, Texas. I had several unhealthy relationships with men in my early twenties and was introduced to drugs. My life was not going well.

I knew I had to change the life I was in but didn’t know how. At age 23, I married someone that I didn’t love but I thought he could help me get on the right track. That lasted 5 years and the relationship ended in a bitter divorce that left me penniless, but I was determined to move forward.

A few years later I met someone I adored, we married, and I thought I was finally in a place to have a happy, normal life. We had a son, great jobs, and a wonderful life until I found out that my husband, who I saw as my Rescuer, had become my new Persecutor. He had been cheating on me and, unfortunately, it looked like divorce again. I came home from work one day and, to my horror, he had committed suicide in our home. I picked myself up and, yet again, started over, again, and again. Clearly, I was stuck in the DDT cycle.

When TED* came into my life I had several chips on my shoulder, and I swore I would never trust anyone again because every time I did, they let me down. As I began to understand the lessons from TED* and that I’m responsible for the choices I make, holding myself accountable, and taking life one baby step at a time, I truly began working on myself. As a result, I finally found myself. Not the person I had become or the person everyone wanted me to be, but ME. The person God created me to be.

The more work I did, the more I understood who I had become. Through the grace of God and tutelage of David, Donna, and the many amazing people I have met in the community of TED*, I have found who I am meant to be. I can finally say that I like myself, all of me, the good and the not so good. I am blessed now to have the opportunity through work and friendships to help others find TED* as well.

It boils down to this. You don’t have to be defined by your past baggage and, if you give yourself grace and acceptance, you can be who you were always meant to be.

-Sheri Lawrence, VP L&D

You can connect with and learn more about Sheri on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sherilawrence