We’ve all asked it. Usually in moments when life feels unfair, heavy, or downright impossible:
“Why me?”
Why did I lose my job? Why did I get sick? Why did I have to experience betrayal, disappointment, or failure?
It’s a question that can quietly drain our strength. When we ask it, we feel singled out, as if the universe has somehow picked us for pain. But what if that question could be transformed? What if we flipped it from self-pity to power?
What if instead we asked: “Why not me?”
Look at history. Some of the greatest changemakers didn’t choose easy paths — they chose meaningful ones.
Take Mahatma Gandhi. He was a quiet, shy lawyer. He could have spent his life comfortably in South Africa, earning well and living safely. But when faced with injustice, he didn’t say, “Why me? Why should I be the one to resist the British Empire?” He said, “Why not me?”
Why not him to lead peaceful protests? Why not him to become the face of nonviolent resistance? Why not him to inspire millions to believe that freedom could be won through courage and compassion?
Or Mother Teresa. She could have spent her life teaching in the safety of a convent. But when she saw the sick and dying abandoned on the streets of Calcutta, she didn’t turn away with, “Why me? Why should I do something about this?” Instead, she said, “Why not me?”
Why not her to bathe the sick with dignity? Why not her to hold the hands of the dying when no one else would? Why not her to remind the world that every life matters, no matter how poor or forgotten?
Both Gandhi and Mother Teresa faced unimaginable hardship — hunger strikes, imprisonment, threats, and harsh living conditions. They could have quit. They could have felt victimized. But they chose purpose over pity.
The power of “Why not me?” is that it shifts us from helplessness to responsibility. It reminds us that maybe we are the right person for this hard thing — not because it’s easy, but because it’s needed.
So next time you whisper, “Why me?”, pause and challenge yourself to ask, “Why not me?”
Why not you to heal from that heartbreak — and help others do the same?
Why not you to overcome what others said you couldn’t?
Why not you to lift someone else because you’ve been there?
Every struggle has the seeds of strength inside it. Some of the greatest leaders and healers were ordinary people who chose to see hardship as a calling, not a curse.
So maybe this thing you’re facing is not about breaking you — but about building you into who you’re meant to become.
Why you? Because you’re here, reading this, breathing, growing.
Why not you? Maybe you’re exactly who the world needs for this moment.
Why me? Why not me!
