5.Take action.Businessman Jim Bluett felt helpless when a heart attack nearly killed him at age 31.Doctors said that if he didn't alter his habits and shed some of his 285 pounds， he might not be able to walk up stairs or even play with his two kids， "I didn't like the idea of becoming a cardiac cripple， " Jim says， "I knew it was time to make some changes." 
　　Jim quit smoking， gave up coffee and went on a diet.Then with the advice of his cardiologist， he took up walking and， later， jogging.A year and a half later， Jim had lost 125 pounds and was in such sound health that he ran a marathon. 
　　Jim might have followed any number of routes to recovery.However， as Prof.Nancy K.Schlossberg of the University of Maryland at College Park points out in her book Overwhelmed： Copin，g with Life's Ups and Downs： "It's not the commitment to a particular strategy that makes the difference， it's the commitment to mobilizing your resources to trying new things." 
　　Not everyone benefits from every crisis， but many who go through the tempering fires of change successfully emerge better prepared to meet whatever challenges come their way. 
　　Grace Shafir， who turned her faltering business around and later remarried， remembers that she once worried a lot about little things."But after Jere died， I learned to stop being afraid.I realized that once I'd overcome the worst life had to offer， I could handle anyt.hing."