While obstacles can get in the way of pursuing your intended goals, if you’re resourceful, they can also present an opportunity to forge a new path.

For Lani Hall Alpert, Grammy Award-winning vocalist-turned-author, this sentiment hits close to home. At the peak of her success in the mid-’80s, Alpert contracted a debilitating case of chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as the Epstein-Barr virus, forcing the singer to take a reprieve from performing. In spite of losing the physical energy required to sing and perform onstage, Alpert turned to writing to express herself artistically.

In Alpert’s new audiobook, Emotional Memoirs & Short Stories, she deals with this debilitating period of her life, as well as themes like depression, adultery and self-preservation, in stories both fictional and autobiographical. The book is set to a score that includes music by her husband, music legend Herb Alpert.

Lani Hall Alpert, whose musical career was temporarily put on hold by a health crisis, is certainly an expert on turning hurdles into personal triumphs. She’s now focusing on sharing her story, which she hopes will inspire others to do likewise.

Everyone’s stumbling blocks are unique, but here are three positive changes that Alpert made in her own life to improve her situation.

• Accept change: Life is about changes. Sometimes they will affect your interpersonal relationships, and sometimes they will affect your health or finances. Defining those changes, speaking about them, and being true to them are the keys to being happy in the face of change.
• Find your therapy: If you’re going through a hard time, figure out what will help you to self-actualize. For some it may be to create art, for others it’s to achieve physical fitness or acquire knowledge. Everyone has his or her own healing mechanism, and if you’re lucky, it will choose you.

“When I couldn’t sing, writing helped empty myself of the worry and fear that I was experiencing,” says Alpert. “I have always used creativity to find my own truth.”

• Be skeptical: When you are most vulnerable, it can be easy to place your complete trust in a therapist or other person, practice or institution that is meant to be beneficial. But not all such relationships or resources are healthy. Be skeptical until you know you are in good hands.

More information about the book, which is available on iTunes and Amazon, can be found at www.lanihallalpert.com.

When stumbling blocks get in your path, don’t trip up. These moments can be the perfect occasion to break your own mold. — StatePoint