Even if you generally don’t blame, complain or make excuses, spending too much of your time around people who do will have an undue influence on you.

The classic sitcom Seinfeld is a great example of the ripple effect of negativity. Emotionally crippled by their own insecurities, Seinfeld and his friends preferred to spend their time together blaming and complaining about the tiniest injustices committed against them. The result? Their lives were a complete waste; they even hated themselves as friends! Do not fall into the trap of misery loves company because, in truth, alone or in company, you will be miserable.

Let me tell you about a woman who rose above misery to become a fearless leader.

Leymah Gbowee’s Story

Between 1989 and 2003 Liberia was ravaged by two civil wars. During that time, one in three Liberians were displaced, and hundreds of thousands of young girls, mothers, and grandmothers were raped and murdered by soldiers on both sides of the conflict.

Astonishingly, this horrific conflict was ended not by the soldiers or the diplomats, but by a mother who didn’t want her children, or any Liberian child, to have to grow up in a war zone.

Leymah Gbowee, just 17 when the war began, witnessed firsthand the terrible violence that had ripped apart families and loved ones for more than a decade. She was so devastated by what she saw that she no longer found comfort in prayer. Her faith was replaced with anger.

Gbowee had a dream that told her to gather women and work for peace. She initially resisted this calling because she really had no desire to lead women. In her country, women were considered trouble. It seemed an insurmountable obstacle for Liberian women ever to come together for a common good. But the voice within Gbowee would not be stilled. She chose not to blame or complain about her circumstances, but to fight back instead.

So, with seven women, and a total of $10 (U.S.) Gbowee formed the Christian Women Peace Initiative. Soon, Muslim women began their own group and eventually the two sides joined to form a partnership for peace.

These extraordinary women focused on the cause closest to their hearts –children. They realized that the only way to ensure the survival of their children was to acknowledge and accept the humanity in their oppressors.

The women understood that many of their rapists had been boys, as young as nine years old, who were kidnapped and forced to become soldiers in the conflict. The boys had grown into dangerous men with guns, but were just as wounded and broken as the women they had raped.

How did Gbowee have the courage to lead such a noble resistance movement within her homeland? Even in the darkest of days, she was able to find her faith. Faith gave Gbowee the courage to be a Fearless Leader.

Her group of women continued to protest the war, wearing white shirts to symbolize peace, walking barefoot to places where the president would see them.

Finally, the government leaders agreed to speak with Gbowee. She stood up before the leaders of Liberia and demanded that they take action to stop the rapes and murders of innocent people. She demanded that they end the war.

Gbowee’s leadership and the women activists’ courage and commitment were the catalysts to ending the Liberian civil war. Their actions exemplified the qualities that topple governments, transform nations, and create miracles.

Leymah Gbowee was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her fearless actions.