Most of our kids in Milami Primary School come from very humble backgrounds. That said, most of our articles are skewed to inspire our readers who may be in similar situations. Read on and learn a thing or two about how to overcome real-life challenges. One of the words we use in our everyday conversations; is ‘conditions’. It’s not only powerful, but many people have used it to create a ceiling limit for themselves.
Human beings don’t fail to
act because of conditions that are not right. King Solomon’s translation in the
living bible that’s found in Ecclesiastes 11:4 reads: “If you wait for perfect
conditions, you will never get anything done” I do find this awesome. As you
read this article, think of the people you know who are simply getting nothing
done in their lives today merely because they are waiting for perfect (phantom)
conditions.
Waiting for the right conditions is commonplace with ordinary people; however, achievers (go-getters) create their own perfect conditions with their decisions. It is true! Your decisions oftentimes override your conditions.
The Truth and Panacea of Blaming Imaginary Enemies
Blaming your circumstances and doing nothing positive about it is a public display of a frozen mind. There is always a way out but the fact is, if you surely want to do something, you will surely find that ‘way out’. However, if you do not want to, then you will find an excuse and begin blaming conditions.
For many centuries, ‘conditions’ has been a very close ally of losers. Once in a while, everything may seem great around your lifestyle-perhaps not as perfect but at least your plans are moving according to plan. And then, all of a sudden, hell breaks loose! You break up with a loved one, you get retrenched hence lose your job, became disabled due to a road accident; your health, or even your home. ‘I did not plan for this. ‘I did not see it coming’.’ I do not deserve this. ‘It is not fair. It is quite easy to idle around feeling bad; looking for someone to blame or complain to.
Rehashing all you could have done to change your situation or make things happen in a different way. Or what people ought to have done to bail you out. Or what you could have done had you realized beforehand. If you really want to maximize your misery, then all these options are great. They will assist to justify you doing nothing about your current conditions. But if you want to deal with the situation and move on, then nothing is so great here. If you really desire to deal positively with the situation, there’s no shortage of opportunities-irrespective of your physical challenges.
Real-Life Examples
Henry Wanyoike, a Kenyan athlete, became blind at age 20. He is a marathon runner and a talented one at that. When he got blind, a guide was attached to him, and was to practice every day with Henry. He went on relentlessly about achieving the best in his athletic career goals. Henry would have blamed his conditions.
Obviously, there wasn’t anything positive about him losing his sight at age 20. And you know what, if Henry would have blamed his conditions, everybody would have perfectly understood him. Now the scary part comes-when everyone seemingly understands your conditions; hence do not expect much from you. This is because the people around you-those who condone your lack of action based on your conditions and excuses-don’t really like you.
When I was in high school, we could experience power outages occasionally. I had to improvise some innovative ways to facilitate my reading despite the darkness. My action, then, was informed by the fact that the examiner would not consider my conditions when it was time to do the exams.
At one instance, during international athletic competitions, Henry outran his guide who was assigned to him. In fact, he literally dragged his guide passed the finish line. In this scenario, Henry would have been excused for failing to win the race due to his slowing guide as a condition to heap his failure on. But, see what happens, he chose not to. His decision overrode his conditions. The following tips will help you improve on the 90% of your lifestyle, that is; how you respond to hurdles along the path of your life:
1. Acceptance
Acceptance should be your keyword. Make it your priority number one. Handling a bad situation is more or less like dealing with grief. People often go through similar stages: anger, guilt, grief, pain, denial, pain, and some sort of bargaining. You might not be in a position to suppress your emotions fully. However, you can decide to accept what has happened, regardless of your feelings. The faster you accept, the quicker you can act from your current position.
It is the ONLY way to change the way you feel. You must not wait until you experience changes in your feelings in order to act; rather you ought to initiate the action, and your feelings will automatically change.
2. Edit Your Vocabulary
First and foremost, you must get rid of the word fair from your dictionary’s vocabulary. When we were children, everything revolved around fairness. “You promised to buy me a new bicycle it is not fair!’. “She broke my train”-it is not fair! “I had that doll first-it is not fair” and the list goes on. You see, we hang on to how things should be. Hard work ought to be rewarded. Kindness ought to be reciprocated. If and when things fail to happen that way, we vent our anger at the world and feel bad inside of us. Feeling angry at the injustices of life often does not alter the fact that things take effect randomly; and that such happenings take place beyond your control. When you begin to spiral around an unfair circus, you better remind yourself this: “that’s what it is.” From there, choose a reactive option that’s in line with the way you would want your lifestyle to be.
3. Life Lesson
It is highly recommended under the circumstances that you pretend, that everyone is in the know-save for you, and; that everybody you meet is there to teach you a thing or two. In this way, anyone who frustrates or annoys; presents an opportunity for you to work on your inner patience. This very mindset can assist in improving how you interpret and the way you respond to different events in your life. If your relationship was shattered, perhaps the life lesson might be to create room for more independence. If you were involved in an accident and got disabled, maybe the lesson is to establish your true purpose. If you focus on the lesson, then your mind begins to work on positive changes thus, making you feel empowered rather than deflated.
4. Put Your Mind to a Task
More often than not, we tend to convert petty upsets into monstrous catastrophes in our brains. Little things may appear horrible at the first impression. Of course, some of them, like losing a job, your love, home, etc can be very challenging. However, most of these situations can be resolved. At times, they might turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
When it comes to that which you are dealing with, is it truly the end of the world? Can you imagine how impressed you would be if you bounced back with a better-paying job or a truly satisfying relationship? Instead, you would thank heavens that it indeed happened!
Wrapping Up
To get a dose of inspiration to jumpstart your journey in a way that would completely transform your lifestyle, join the likes of Henry and move on to the next goal with your head held high. You will be proud of yourself to have acted on this advice instead of being disappointed. It is not easy to always get what we want in life, but we can work on who we want to be; regardless of what life throws at us. Feel free to share your experiences in the comments section below.