“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
These are truly exceptional times. And with no vaccine in sight, some people may not see a light at the end of the tunnel, even though the lockdown is now being eased around the world. However, there is hope and we must be hopeful, because this pandemic is only a storm, albeit, a very deadly storm.
By their very nature, storms are seasonal. No matter how devastating they are, storms don’t last forever. So ride out the storm. Stay the course, because the storm will pass. Troubles don’t last. With a few precautions, your troubles won’t kill you!
Some people give up too easily. At the slightest hint of difficulty, they throw in the towel.
Ron Wayne cofounded Apple with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, providing administrative oversight for the new company. He had a 10 percent stake in the company. Wayne wrote the original Apple partnership agreement, drew the first Apple logo, and wrote the Apple 1 Manual. He later sold his shares back for $800. He didn’t stay the course for a variety of personal reasons, which seemed reasonable at the time. But as of April 2016, Wayne’s 10 percent stake in Apple Inc. was worth about $60 billion. Imagine if he had ridden out the storm!
In 2000, Wayne sold his original partnership agreement for $500. Yet again, he missed out because in 2011, that same agreement was sold at auction for $1.6 million!
Some people give up too easily. Don’t be one of them!
Don’t You Dare Give Up
“Life has two rules: #1 Never quit. #2 Always remember rule # 1.”
—Anonymous
Hang in there.
Here are five ways to develop resilience and train yourself to persevere during these difficult times:
1. Have the right mental attitude.
I know this is easier said than done. But it is possible to develop a resilient mental attitude.
Life is full of hurdles, challenges and stressful situations. That’s because life happens.
It’s important to understand that what happens, happens to everybody. The rain falls on the rich and poor. Covid-19 has affected everybody. Boris Johnson, the British prime minster was on a ventilator in intensive care. Prince Charles tested positive to Covid-19 and had to self-isolate. So did Tom Hanks.
What happens affects everybody. However, the difference is what you make of it. And that is down to your mental attitude.
The elephant is stronger, bigger and more powerful than the lion, but the lion eats it for lunch. Why? Because the lion sees the elephant as lunch. It’s all down to your mindset.
Your mind is very powerful. So powerful that ancient wisdom says that as you think, so you are! Joyce Meyer says wherever the mind goes, the man follows!
Make a habit of daily emptying your mind of worry, anxiety, hate, resentment, insecurity, guilt feelings and fear. You can’t leave your mind empty, so fill it with creative, healthy and positive thoughts. Practise thinking a carefully selected series of peaceful thoughts. At various times during your day, bring back memories of the most peaceful scenes you’ve ever witnessed. Let them pass through your mind.
Henry Ford put it brilliantly when he said, “whether you think you can or think you can’t—you are right.”
2. Realize that the darkest hour of the night is just before dawn!
You’ve got to realize that if you hang in there long enough, the challenge or difficulty will pass. That’s not to bury your head in the sand and pretend the problem isn’t there. Far from it!
You’ve got to keep working at the challenge. Keep trying to find a solution. The Bible puts it this way: “weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)
It was Zig Ziglar who said, “Never give up. The moment you are ready to quit is usually the moment right before miracles happen.”
As Dr. Robert H. Schuller once said, “tough times never last, but tough people do!”
3. Have a list of daily affirmations that you make conscientiously.
Your mind controls your thoughts, which overflow into your actions. One way to train your mind, and make it go in the direction you want, is through positive affirmations.
Start your day by affirming peaceful, contented, successful and happy attitudes, and your day will turn out differently.
Tell yourself, You can do it. Say to yourself, It’s possible to thrive in the midst of your challenges. Think serenity. Think tranquility. Think possibility.
Make your affirmations all the time. Make them conscientiously, whether you feel like it or not. Let them become part of your thinking.
4. Before you give up, stop think, and reflect.
Whenever you feel like quitting, take a moment to stop and think. Open your windows, and let in some fresh air. Do something that will clear your head. If the lockdown rules in your country permit, go for a walk or a drive or even a jog.
As you do so, take the opportunity to reflect. Think: what will happen to your dream if you quit? Remember all the investments you’ve already put into it—your time, money . . . everything! Ask yourself: “is quitting the best option, or is there another way?”
Of course, if the project is a dead horse then you must let go. No use flogging a dead horse, right?
But don’t quit on life!
Denied a job by Facebook in 2009, Brian Acton and Jan Koum co-founded WhatsApp the same year. Five years later in 2014, they sold WhatsApp to Facebook for an incredible $16 billion!
5. Quit complaining and start being thankful for what you’ve got!
Stop complaining. Instead, be thankful for what you have. Develop an attitude of gratitude.
Complaining blocks your channels of inspiration. On the other hand, thankfulness and gratitude align you with the force of the universe, and for those who believe, the Divine.
Wherever you find yourself in life, you’re most certainly better than somebody else.
Final Words
Difficult, stressful and challenging as these times are, I have found a way to develop resilience. I have found a way to thrive, to enjoy everyday life. If I can, so can you!
First published on Astute Copy Blogging.