Monday, February 9, 2009

Maintaining Optimism Amidst Challenges


Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind.

-Aristotle-
Here are some ways on how to deal with challenges:

Always think positively. Everything that comes to you is for you and for your own good. Nothing that comes your way comes by mistake. There is always a purpose, a plan, a reason why things happen to you. Even the bad things are meant to convey good things later on! Unlike pessimism, optimism can’t hurt at all.


Laugh, laugh, laugh! A sense of humor, a jolly disposition, a smile in the midst of sadness – all these will get your senses revitalized and you’ll be able to see through your problems.


Don’t get swayed by others’ opinions. Never allow anyone to rain on your parade. Nothing outside yourself can have any power over you unless you permit it. It takes a single tree to make a thousand matches; likewise, it takes a single match to burn a thousand trees. Let your tree grow and never let anybody burn your hopes by statements like, “you can’t do it,” “it’s hopeless,” “just give up,” or “there’s nothing you can do.”


Forget yourself and reach out to others. When you have a problem, go out be generous. When you give, you feel empowered. When you feel empowered, you feel blessed with possessions that you can give away. Why give more than receive? Because at times, we become too full of ourselves that we would burst if we take in more time and didn’t give some away.


Don’t count your problems. Don’t keep score of how much you lost or didn’t make. Don’t waste time adding up numbers or figure out how far you’re ahead or behind. What’s the point? Imagine how much depression and misery you would feel if you saw all the problems you encountered. It’s like cutting yourself for every problem you remember.


See the entire picture. We don’t understand some things not because we feel it is against our liberty or right but because we don’t see the whole scenario yet.

Time heals all wounds. You may get hurt today, it may be painful at first, but remember this pain will subside and eventually heal. Time is your friend! Time is the great healer. However, do not live your life by the clock. Manage your time well; set aside for everything you do.


Do things differently. When you hit the blues or feel downcast, what do you do? Do you sit down in a corner and cry? Do you go out and watch a movie to forget it? Whatever it is you normally do, discard it and do something different. Pretty soon, you will be able to think more clearly and understand your challenges well enough to know how to face them.


Keep yourself busy. Complacency and idleness are the devil’s tools, so they say. When you have nothing to do, all sorts of things come to your mind and before you know it, you’re too overwhelmed by problems. Keep yourself busy with some new project or idea, or go out and experience something new. When your mind is busy working on something you are interested in, you can feel positive feelings flowing within.


Keep yourself physically fit. Trials, adversities, challenges and problems can affect your physical health. Exercise actually builds self-confidence and inspires you to achieve more. When you get into a physical activity, you replace negative feelings with positive thoughts, because your mind is focused on achieving something.


Turn inward. Look within your soul. Meditate. Pray. Gain the peace that can only come from a Higher Source. Commune with your spirit and understand how inspiration from Above can help you see through your pain.

We cannot avoid challenges in our lives, but we can learn how to face them because we know what to do about them when they come again.
But there is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it’s better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for your dreams than to be defeated without ever knowing what you’re fighting for.

-Paulo Coelho-

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