Struggles

"Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of them” Epictetus



We all struggle with some issue or another.  Some of us struggle to a greater degree than others; it's all a matter of perspective.  I have some friends that are dealing with seemingly insurmountable issues in their lives, issues I cannot even understand.  Issues like addiction, terminal illnesses, etc., etc.  Some of these friends are depressed and find it hard to get out of the apparent black holes that they are in.  Others are able to maintain faith and an optimistic outlook no matter what - at least for the most part.  Other friends go from one place to the other, sometimes mastering faith and other times falling into hopelessness.

I say it's a matter of perspective since our experiences start and end with how we think about the external issues we face.  If we decide that we can absolutely conquer whatever we have in front of us, that will be a different experience than if we decide we are beaten. If you think it's over and why bother to go on anymore then it's over.

In my experience, I do much, much better overall when I decide I'm invincible and that all that is ahead of me I am able to conquer.  I muster the strength, the faith and the optimism - sometimes from nowhere -  to believe that I can do it.  And, I focus on all the things I listed as a strategy for living in my second post in this blog, Uncertainty and Fear on January 24th.  I still do the meditation on Fear which has been of tremendous help in keeping me balanced.

In fact, I am now thinking what is that next adventure that I must pursue.  And that goes beyond any job I could get - as I am in a job hunting mode - but rather, what is that seemingly unattainable goal I want to achieve? What are those goals?  What in my innermost being do I want to do next?  In the context of nothing is impossible, I have to define those goals clearly.  Now.

When I say I do much better when I decide that I am able to conquer anything it means that I feel really good about the process ahead of me but also I know I am increasing my odds of succeeding.  As in the example I recently gave in my post Winning on March 29th,  I go in to win the race, I don't go in to lose.  So I know that dwelling on my shortcomings when I interview for a job will not get me the job.  Focusing on my many strengths will definitely get me the job.  We all have shortcomings so no need to focus on those.

Which brings me to the core message of this post.  Since how we think about ourselves, our lives, our issues, is what determines our reality, it's clear to me that our struggles are within ourselves and with ourselves.  That is what we must conquer.  Conquering my thoughts and where my mind goes is the discipline that has helped me all along.  I consciously watch my thinking and if it's going in the wrong direction I switch lanes and go where I know I will win the battle inside of me. I strongly believe that this discipline brings the peace and happiness that most of us seek.

In light of how I am thinking of "struggles" I have decided to change the word to "challenges", somehow if I look at them that way it makes them more appealing.  I am always looking for the next challenge, the next mountain to climb, the next adventure to live...