“One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity.”_ Albert Schweitzer
I once read
a powerful quote from Confucius, the Chinese philosopher which posited that our
greatest glory is not in not having any difficulty to deal with but in
overcoming each and every challenge we encounter.
Indeed, the
real measure of our strength has less to do with our shinning successes but more
to do with the difficulties we have overcome to win them.
In this
direction, I want share a trick of survival that we can use to persevere and
win out of every undesirable circumstance we may face at any point in our
lives.
This useful
trick is about taking hard things bit by bit, one step at time, one day at a
time, in order to go ahead one more time.
Since hard
conditions of life are indispensable to bringing our best, then our best hope of
triumphant lies in learning how to overcome the inevitable hardships of life.
And such skill is what we want to unlock in today’s article.
So, in the
face of a huge difficulty, don’t think about how hard the challenge may turn
out to be for you throughout the year, just focus on the present moment and bear
with what you have to do right now. In other words, don’t let what is yet to
come aggravate what is currently at hand.
Know that
victory doesn’t always go to the strongest or the smartest, but it always goes
to the one who never quits. The one who in the face of a terrifying difficulty,
chooses to ignore the end and does his best on his most immediate duty.
When you’re feeling
outmatched and in doubt as to whether you can go on further. Take a deep breath
and compress your ‘mountain’ into something you can act upon, here and now.
In an
interesting book, ‘The Way of the SEAL,’ the author, Mark Divine explains the
concept as simplifying the battlefield of life in order to have a laser focus
on whatever is most important in the moment.
By doing
this, we not only gain an empowering perspective on a very big problem, but we
also find a reserved energy to handle the moment with nerve and class.
You see,
quitters in the game of life are not necessarily the weakest, but too often, they
are the ones who got disempowered by their own poor perspective. They are the
ones who got crushed by the magnified weight of their challenges.
We can
overcome the most devastating difficulties if we would live by the Chinese
proverb that states, “to get through the hardest journey, we need take only one
step at a time, but we must keep on stepping.” Therefore, be grateful for your
hardships because they are a veritable engine of self-improvement and eventual success.
Finally, in
your own heroic journey, never pass over a great opportunity because of its associated challenges or difficulties, and always remember that
ease is a greater threat to your progress than growth-related hardships.
