Who has never struggled before? Of course, no one right?
Everyone in the world wants to be happy and no one enjoys suffering from problems. People talk about the ‘pursuit of happiness’ but that is exactly why happiness seems so elusive because it is viewed as a destination in life, a goal that you have to achieve, the finish line. The burning desire to search for the right formula to achieve it has become the life’s passion for many people. For so many years, people experience hardship, frustration and disappointment chasing that goal.
We all have visions of what we wish our life would be….to purchase our own house, have that dream car, get married and have children, and the list goes on. We are so focused on getting to that ideal life we imagine that we forget to experience life because we do not live in the moment. It is a sad reality that most people go through life dreaming of another life that seems out of reach. The hope and faith in their own ability are usually clouded by stress and worry of everyday life. Life becomes a series of struggles and torture that we just want to get out of.
Do you find yourself in this situation too?
Sometimes? or often?
How to make our day to day struggles be a source of joy?
Be the Master of Our Mind
Our mind is one of the most amazing thing we possess. It contains our consciousness, imagination, perception, thinking, judgement, language and memory. It helps us function as a normal living being but if we are not careful, our mind can also cause us great sufferings, depending on the quality of our thoughts.
When we face struggles in life, negative thoughts will usually take over our mind causing us to think that we are not good enough, we are not capable of solving our problems or even being happy. The more entertain these kind of thoughts, our mind will start to believe it. The first thing that we need to be aware of is that our thoughts are not us.
There’s an analogy that I really love when it comes to mastering our mind.
“Thoughts are like clouds. The mind is like the sky. Some clouds are beautiful, some are dark, but whatever they are, they are not the sky. They are simply clouds that come and go. Similarly, some thoughts are beautiful, some are dark, but whatever they are, they are not the mind. They are simply thoughts that come and go.”
– Chade-Meng Tan
Practice Gratitude
Practicing gratitude can truly help us transform our overall wellbeing and increase satisfaction in life. Often times, when we are too focused on what is missing in life, we forget to appreciate what we already have. I have started writing a gratitude journal a few years ago and from then on, had been promoting the importance of gratitude in our life. It is very hard to look for things to be grateful for at the beginning but it’s true that if we try our best to look for things, we’ll certainly find them. So that’s exactly what I did. Each morning, I wrote down at least 3 things I was grateful for and my sense of gratitude grew that even the wind blowing on my face has become a magical moment. Once you start believing in the power of gratitude, I assure you that you’ll never look back.
Remember Past Victories
When we face problems that seem unsurmountable, it’s very easy to fall into that hopeless state. However, reminding ourselves of our past victories can give us that confident boost that if we could win over past struggles, we can definitely do it again. So no matter how small or big, we definitely should list down our victories/achievements so that when that crucial moment comes and we need that little push to face our difficulties head on, we have that list to remind us. Once we realise how we come out stronger and better after every struggle, we then begin to see how difficulties actually help us polish our lives and that without difficulty, there can be no victory.
Stop Worrying
Worrying for the future can be positive because it prevents us from being reckless and to plan ahead for the things we have control over. However, we can also worry about things that we have little or no control over. When worrying take a hold of our entire being, we are living in the future. Therefore, it prevents us from experiencing the ‘now’…. and before we know it, all the ‘now’ that we miss to experience and treasure become our entire life. We always assume that there is always ‘tomorrow’ but what if all we have is ‘now?
Garland of Light 