This week’s Monday motivation is actually inspired by one of you. I’m so happy with how you’ve all been responding to these posts and I was sent this beautiful quote by a reader and I think it’s perfect for this week’s topic - dealing with adversity.
The negative experiences we all have to deal with can become alarmingly overwhelming, we struggle to see what’s past our current situation and begin to view it as our life. The key is to dealing with this is having the confidence in yourself that you can cope and survive the trails life throws at you.
One of the greatest analogies I ever heard was this:
Imagine you’re driving or even a passenger in a car as you hurtle along the motorway at night. It’s pitch black and you only have the car headlights for guidance, and they only give you about a hundred foot of vision in font of you. Yet we still steam ahead at 70mph with no clue of what is in front beyond those hundred feet. We trust that that is all we need, that the next one hundred feet will become clear to us as we finish the current hundred. It’s the same with life as it unfold in front of us. If we just trust that the next distance will unfold as we needed, and the next after that, our lives keep unfolding. Eventually you will get to the destination of whatever it is you truly want, because you want it.
The human race has dealt with famine, disease, war and countless strife, and yet we are still here, 7 billion strong. The human mind and body are phenomenal strong and you just need to learnt connect to the strength already inherent in you.
Finding your inner strength
Believing in yourself
The biggest aspect of accessing your inner strength is believing. It is only when we truly believe that we are opened to a world of possibility.
Learn to accept yourself
Give yourself a break, we all have flaws. By acknowledging, and dare I say cherishing, our flaws we are able to show our true individuality. Always seek to learn from your situations and find the silver lining. I don’t think I could have gotten through my teens without the phrase, “fake it till you make it”. This isn’t to say be fake, to live a lie. It is to tell yourself that things will be OK, even when you may be so down you don’t believe it. Yet.
Surround yourself with the right people
It sounds straightforward but we all have people in our lives who do nothing to enrich it. It’s time to question whether these relationships need to stick around. By all means you can try and fix them and address any issues of missing support, but do not be hard on yourself when it comes to letting go.
Don’t compare yourself
We are all on diffident paths. They intertwine with others at times and hopefully one day we find someone to walk the same one as us for the rest of our lives. But you cannot compare toys to others. Your uphill might be longer and harder tan their uphill and they may be already on the way down hill decent or running the comfortable flat, but that is their path. Revel in your challenge. If the hill get steeper, stick your hands in the dirt and crawl, do not let the hill make you step back down. Work hard, help others up, gig deep and have your Rocky moment at the top. If there is one thing I have learnt it’s that you have to own your own adversity. Even when you have done nothing to welcome it, to own it is to say I accept it, I will deal with it and I will triumph over it. To own it is to use it as a building block to something better.
[tweetability]Own your own adversity - Neil Thornton[/tweetability]
Do what you love
Whether it’s a hobby or you make it your life’s work, do what you love. Be grateful for the things you love and cherish it every day.
Talk to people
We’ve spoken about this before and you know by now I am a fan of talking. Having a sounding board is a great way to bounce problems as well as ideas. It’s amazing how small a problem can turn out to be when you have some else to help give you perspective.
All of us will experience darkness at someone tome in our lives, some darker than others, but each is a true and valid experience that is an inexplicable part of life and being alive; being human. Like the quote says, an entire ocean cannot sink a ship unless the water gets inside. In life, all the negativity in the world cannot get inside unless you let. I am not preaching that this is an easy thing to manage, rough seas and downpours will mean that sometimes water will seep in the cracks and we may be forced to wade knee-deep for a while, it is a constant practice. But one thing I know for sure is that no matter how dark the clouds are over your sea, light is shining on the other side, and whether you go over, around or through that cloud the light is there on the other side for you to find.
Have a great week everyone. Live it with flags flying at full-mast and the wind pushing your sails toward greatness.
Neil
Welcome!