When times are tough, it’s difficult to stay focused on your goals and aspirations. You may find yourself wondering when the hardships in your life will go away. The truth is, life’s hardships never truly fade away but you can use this to your advantage, though, by viewing these challenges as opportunities.
Hi and welcome back to BarrWorld.com. It’s been a while since my last post because I have been dealing with a lot of what this post is about, hard, tough times. As tough as it has gotten I have been reminded of two things. A saying by Robert Schuler “Tough times don’t last, tough people do” and the words of a song I heard “even in the valley, God is good”.
But why do tough times happen at all? What if we looked at tough times from a different angle? What if we looked at life’s tests as a catalysts for growth, would we be better prepared to sail through them?
If we are prepared mentally for the tough times maybe we can navigate life’s most tumultuous seas with a little less stress.
Pain can drive you onward.
Pain – whether it is physical or mental – we are taught is a negative force meant to torment or beguile us, but this isn’t the case. It is an indication that something, somewhere, isn’t right.
Our first reaction is, how can I solve this problem and move out of this place, FAST. But hold on a second, maybe you’re not asking the best questions. What if you asked, what can I learn from this so I never have to come back here again?
Pain can serve as a beacon in the darkness, a torch that illuminates the path. If you have reviewed how you got to this point and you are still focused on your goals, the pain may be just a temporary setback before you are successful. Your breakthrough to the next level, if you just hold on a bit longer.
Everything has an opposite, and pain is the opposite of joy. If not for pain, we would have no understanding of joy as a state of being. Don’t run from pain. Instead, face it head on and ask yourself, “What is the cause of my pain?” The answer can lead you to joy if you’re willing to address the source of your pain.
When we succeed, we tend to party; when we fail, we ponder. Tony Robbins
Your mindset determines your outcomes.
How you react to hardship often determines how much of it you will experience.
Your reactions have immediate and lasting effects on both your body and mind, and choosing to act instead of react can free you from habitual behavior that might be causing challenges in the first place.
Optimism and realism aren’t mutually exclusive. Life’s ups and downs are part of our life on this planet. It’s important that you face both with equal vigor.
When you swim in a lake or ocean, you know perfectly well that the crash of one wave leads to the cresting of another. Life operates in the same way, so expect each swell to bring with it its own challenge. Avoid letting negativity color your perceptions.
If you expect pain, you will react in pain. And if you react in pain – whether the threat is real or not – you will miss out on any opportunities hidden within the challenge itself.
The good times we put it in our pocket, the hard times we put into our heart –Les Brown
Most fears are not representative of reality.
It’s important that you differentiate between fears that stem from physical threats and fears that arise in the mind.
To succeed in today’s high-tech and interconnected world, you have to be able to face these fears head on. This is the only way to convince your subconscious that the threats it perceives are not real.
Only with repeated exposure to discomfort can you convince your subconscious mind that it has nothing to fear from these non-physical threats.
You can absolutely overcome fear every single time if you’re willing to force yourself through the discomfort it generates. Typically, this discomfort will melt away the moment you dive into the task or situation you’re dreading.
Fear stands for False Evidence Appearing Real –Zig Ziglar
Taking action with these concepts in mind will help you find solutions for many of your challenges. When you can manage the present, the future will take care of itself.
Remember: opportunity only exists in the present moment. And in order to build toward your ideal tomorrow, you have to deal effectively with the life you have today.
God Bless and we will chat soon.
Leave me a comment or if you have a question of email me at Percy@barrworld.com