Joseph Campbell says in Reflections on the Art of Living, “Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves, when life seems most challenging. . . . Negativism to the pain and ferocity of life is negativism to life. . . . We are not there until we can say yes to it all. P. 20
Note: The saying, used by many who exercise, “no pain no gain” is also true in other aspects of life. Our greatest life lessons come from the moments of great challenges. We will be challenged. Challenges are unavoidable. The best way to deal with challenges is to go through them. When we face our challenges head on, we come out, stronger, more resilient, and wiser.
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” Maya Angelou
NOTE: Life challenges to become stronger, more resilient, and more adaptable. When we rise over and over again, we gain strength, confidence, resilience, and the ability to endure the toughest of times. The base foundation for gaining strength and resilience is the meaning in our life. When we have meaning in our life we can accomplish most any goal and conquer most every challenge. What meaning in your life drives you today?
“We’ve got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen.” D. H. Lawrence
NOTE: Life is going to go on with or without us. We’re going to take hits and get knocked down. If we have the courage to rise each time we’re knocked down, we’ll become stronger, more resilient, and develop a tenaciousness that will see us through the toughest times. Rise each time you fall. You’re stronger than you realize.
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Disappointments happen. Shake them off, wish them a hearty farewell and start again. Each time you rise you gain strength, you become more resilient, you become invincible.
Resilience is what allows you to cope with life’s ups and downs. Making something worthwhile out of painful times helps your resilience grow. Starting a support group to help others, or making something creative out of bad experiences by, for example, writing, painting or singing, can help you express pain and get through hard times.
When you have resilience, you harness the inner strength that helps you rebound from a setback or challenge, such as a job loss, an illness, a disaster or a loved one’s death. If you lack resilience, you might dwell on problems, feel victimized, become overwhelmed or turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as substance abuse, eating disorders or risky behaviors. Resilience won’t make your problems go away — but resilience can give you the ability to see past them, find enjoyment in life and better handle stress. If you aren’t as resilient as you’d like to be, you can develop and learn skills to become more resilient. Resilience can help protect you from various mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety. Resilience can also help offset factors that increase the risk of mental health conditions, such as being bullied or previous trauma. If you have an existing mental health condition, being resilient can improve your coping ability.
Even when we can’t see where we’ll end up, keep going, it’s going to work out if we don’t quit. Stay the course.
