What on earth does that mean? If my home gets destroyed in a fire I'm going to be upset. Anyone would be upset by such a circumstance. Is this saying blaming the victim by saying that we can interpret horrible events in our lives differently and not be so unhappy because of them? Well, sort of.
Terrible things happen to people all the time. We may not have any choice over some things that happen to us such as the fire mentioned above. However, the meaning we give to such traumas can make a difference in the kind of impact such an event has on our lives.
How many times have we seen people creating foundations or becoming speakers warning us about something terrible that has happened to them? Why do you think they are doing that? The answer is probably related to the above quote. If we can give positive meaning to negative things that happen to us we have a much better chance to go on in our lives with greater health and peace.
