Today’s post is an impromptu piece of writing. I received a private message from somebody that although I’ve not spoken to for an age I still regard as a friend. He is a fellow blogger, and is someone that has the makings of being a brilliant author. Life and business has taken me away from the circle that we would communicate through and I often miss the interaction. But today his message has shown me that all’s not well right now in his life, and he is off work with depression and anxiety, as he has faced a ‘shit year’ which has ‘finally caught up’ with him.
The way things are in the world at the moment, it’s getting so common for people to be struggling with depression with their frustrations in life just knocking them down.
I remember the words of Emilio Estevez.
Emilio Estevez
“Life is unfair. That’s just a fact. But when you’ve got no money and no family and it’s been three years since Hollywood offered you a role in a film, you’ve got to ask yourself, “Am I going to sit here on the couch all day and wallow in self-pity, or am I going to get out there and make D4: The Mighty Ducks on my own?” Well, for me, the answer is simple: The Quack Attack is back, Jack!”
We all face times where life seems full of nothing but nightmares. I know I’ve been there.
No one escapes difficulty. It is a part of life. I know we each face our own unique circumstances. Nobody knows exactly the pressure you feel or the discouragement that plagues your heart, but no matter how dark life becomes, there is a way forward, you just have to somehow rise above it all and keep trying to figure out how to turn your life around.
I know it is so hard to determine what to do when life gets you down. Many people run for cover. Some just hope that the troubles they are facing will simply disappear. Others find themselves fighting against their circumstances in an effort to be free from suffering.
It’s our passions and our commitments to make our life’s great, and better than they are today that shapes and molds our potential success. Yes life may be giving you heartache, tragedy and disappointment right now, but you really can get yourself to a better place if you fight for it.
One of the hardest lessons we will ever learn is how to take a negative situation and turn it into a positive one.
Every heartache, every frustration, every disappointment, and every failure may not make sense, but isn’t it more important to look for the opportunities that still await us that could turn our entire life around.
Somehow you have to try, and I know it’s hard to keep a positive mindset. I’m not asking you to deny the seriousness of your circumstances or the hurt you’re feeling. You just have to be able to look forward at the best possibilities that you can bring your focus and attention to bring to you.
I know when my wife informed me that she decided that she was returning to the south and she would be taking my youngest daughter with her. I could have crashed given up on my journey, after all in my mind everything I was doing was for my family. But I didn’t. I used this to fire me up even more. I started to think of all I have done to succeed so far. All the time, effort and sacrifices I had made. I would hold firm, and carry on but now do more and more of all the things I love to do, am really good at and want to do in the future, both personally and professionally.
My words to myself were “I’m NOT going to let this stop me from succeeding” and “I’m not letting anyone or anything ruin my hopes and dreams”.
It made me all the more determined to accomplish my goals. I didn’t put my energies into things I couldn’t change, or lose myself in thoughts of self pity about what had happened. I had to accept things I couldn’t change, because it isn’t always possible to change the things you don’t like or find difficult, but you can try and change your own attitude to them.
My attention focused on my dreams, I just had to take one person out of them. I had to accept she chose to end this part, but not to end my dreams or my journey.
Did I have any weak moments? Well if I did, this is the story I’d read to make sure I kept going, and to use my favourite expression never give up.
I once heard the following story and it helped me a lot:
There once was a student who studied with a teacher for many years. One day the teacher felt that the student was ready to leave him, but the student asked the teacher to give him something that would help him during difficult times. The teacher agreed and gave him an envelope. He asked the student not to open it unless things get really difficult.
Years passed. The student explored the world and experienced many hardships but never opened the envelope until one day when things became very difficult and he just could not continue. When he opened the envelope, he saw a small note with the “This too shall pass” written on it.
Just remembering that difficult times do not last forever helps immensely during hard times.
So I immersed myself in doing what I loved. I kept my focus on creating my dream. I didn’t let anything knock me of my journey. I concentrated my mind on the tasks I had to perform and remembered the end result I was after. It kept me going, it kept me sane.
It worked for me. So let your talents and your dreams be what lifts you out of your difficult place.
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