3 Little Known Truths to Help You Plow Through Tough Times
When times are rough, it’s really hard to stay focused on your goals, your dreams, your hopes for a better tomorrow. Sometimes I find myself wondering when all these hardships in my life will go away. The truth is, life’s hardships never truly fade away. Life is hard most of the time, from the little things to the big things, but it can also have moments of pure joy. You can use this to your advantage, though, by viewing these challenges as opportunities.
The more you’re able to view life’s tests as catalysts for growth, the better prepared you’ll be to sail through them.
Take these points to heart, and you’ll soon be on your way to navigating life’s most tumultuous seas:
1. Pain can drive you onward. Pain - whether physical or mental - is an indication that something, somewhere, isn’t right. People are taught from birth that pain is a negative force meant to torment or beguile us, but this isn’t the case. Pain can serve as a beacon in the darkness, a torch that illuminates the path.
THE CAPE BYRON LIGHTHOUSE in Byron Bay, Australia, is one of my favorite spots on this planet.
Built at the turn of the 19th century to protect ships passing along the coast, this lighthouse stands resolute on the most easterly point of the Australian mainland. Operated by resident keepers until 1989, it’s now automated light is clearly visible from Byron Bay township.
I often wondered how that light might have shone for weary sailors illuminating their path to safety. The smile that would light their faces knowing they were on course, they were safe.
Oftentimes, psychological pain is the result of unresolved issues that are smoldering beneath the surface. Only by confronting these issues, by bringing them to the surface, can you move beyond them.
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 freedom if you’re willing to address the source of your pain.
2. Your frame of mind determines your outcomes. Your thought patterns. Watch your thoughts listen to what you saying about yourself, your situation. I love this quote - “Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” The answer to capturing your thoughts is right there in Scripture, hidden in plain sight. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” The powerful effects of prayer and meditation have been well-documented in recent years, again confirming what Christians should already know.
Capturing your thoughts requires stillness, something most of us have no time for. And as long as we have no time for prayer, our thoughts, emotions, and feelings will continue to lead us.
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 reacting 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 life. 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 the negative 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 the real gem within the challenge itself.
3. 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.
We often create various scenarios that run deep within your subconscious. When you dream, you become aware of this process. I strongly believe that These mental fears are meant to keep you from taking unnecessary risks.
To live free, to live whole, 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.
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,
Sharon