GROWING WITH CHALLENGES

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GROWING WITH CHALLENGES

Storms come to us all. These storms are challenges that we encounter daily in life. Everyone born of a woman irrespective of your background will face one form of challenge or the other in life. These challenges could come in as a result of losing a loved one, losing a job, failed relationships, crumbled businesses, failing health, financial setback rejection or abandonment. Maintaining a positive attitude while facing these challenges whether from people, circumstances or challenging times is never an easy one yet they are an inevitable part of our lives. Sometimes, it's the challenge of living your dreams that comes in in form of fears of failures or of being criticised. In times of difficulties, challenges or trying times, what you need is a resilient spirit to forge ahead.



Few days back, I had faced challenges that tended to weigh me down physically and emotionally. I was so upset in my spirit, soul and body that I couldn't contain or hide it. I bore it to a point that I couldn't bear keeping myself that way. The only way out was to develop a resilient spirit knowing there was nothing I could really do about it neither could I change the situation at the time. I had to inspire myself in seeing the good side of it all believing there is a reason why it happened the way it did and trust me, there was a positive angle from everything that happened within those few days and these challenges were rather turned into growth for me positively.

When challenges set in, the first thing that appears is fear demoralising us. We start thinking of the negative, fearing the outcome of the present challenge. Fear, anger, sadness are a part of our emotions and they form part of who we are but we have the decision and power to turn every negative feeling to a positive one. How you deal with your emotions and the challenges you encounter will determine how successful you become physically, mentally, emotionally, financially and otherwise.

Now, while there might not be a perfect or an allfit method to grow in challenges, the tips mentioned below can go a long way to help you overcome and grow in challenges. 

1. DEVELOP A RESILIENT SPIRIT : Developing a resilient spirit enables you see the positive side of every challenge in life. Resiliency keeps you going in life even in the face of tough challenges. You don't just sit down and give up on life because you are experiencing some difficulties. Develop a resilient spirit to get back up not minding the circumstance you are in. A resilient spirit enables you come back to your original self even in the face of challenges. According to Brene' Brown, a resilient spirit requires good problem solving skills, good emotional regulation skills, willingness to reach out for help, faith that life will go on, a solid support connection, being resourceful and having an infinite sense of humour helps a lot.

2. HONESTY : Be honest with yourself and with your feelings. If you are feeling sad about a thing, don't suppress your feelings hiding how you feel. It's ok to feel sad in unfavourable situations or when people get us upset. Don't go acting all strong but dying inside at the same time. Not being honest with yourself and talking about it, it's what leads to depression sometimes. It causes uneasiness. Even when we pretend about it, we might have a temporal relief but it bounces back if we don't deal with the issue honestly. Job in the Bible was a man who had everything going well for him not until he started experiencing setbacks, difficulties and challenges. He experienced every worst moment anyone could think of but in all these, Job was honest about his present situation. He was honest about his challenging periods with his wife (Job 2:9-10) and friends (Job 42). No matter what he went through, his integrity was intact. He did not live in denial of his present circumstance despite his initial state of affluence. The more we are honest about how we feel especially when we are down, the easier it becomes for us to face every challenge with grace and willingness to learn just as Job did, the more we are at peace with ourselves even in the face of challenge and then comes the unusual strength to pull through the challenge.



3. MENTALITY CHANGE : Changing your mentality might not come off as easy but it's possible with conscious efforts. At the time of difficulties and challenges, your mentality is usually no way out and your belief  is that nothing positive can come out of the situation. The best and first thing to do is to change your belief about the situation. Rather than thinking nothing positive can happen, believe that there will always be a positive side to every challenge encountered. Changing your belief is the beginning of mentality change leading to positive thinking. Viewing same issue with a different lens opens doors of opportunities and possibilities that enables you see things from a new perspective filled with hopes. Changing your mentality can be extremely liberating and expands our horizon. Having a mentality change increases your hope and faith in God. While Hope tells you things can change, faith keeps you focused on what can be changed.



So many people wish and pray for a life without problems but this is impossible. Everyone of us will come across challenges be it big or small. The difference will be how we all react to the challenge steering us in the face. Challenges are part of us and they are what make us grow in life. They give us experiences, shape our lives for the better , make us grow stronger and wiser in life. The greatest growth and most important lesson you get to learn in life comes from the challenges or problems you  face and deal with. Irrespective of what the result might be from the challenges you face, learn and grow from the experience. The way you face challenges will surely tell a lot about you.



Quote for the day - " Life is full of challenges, but these challenges are only given to you because God knows your faith is strong enough to get you through them." Anonymous
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