How You Can Overcome Any Challenge
By: Jamie E Galbraith
Tags: Empowerment, Life Hacks, Motivation, Self Help, Writing

Fight for your happiness like a tiger fights for its next meal.

By: CottonBro (via pexels.com)

“Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional.” – Roger Crawford

Perspective is a POWERFULL tool…

That is honestly my number one rule. No matter what life may throw at us, we must NEVER allow it to break us. I have found that mere acceptance of the inevitable has allowed me to move beyond the fear of the word:

IF

If I already know and expect life to throw me its worst, I can fully concentrate on maintaining the momentum I need. I am free to keep moving forward, even if that means losing some ground.

Life is a marathon, so I do not waste time on the sprints.

Key Take-Away: Typically I believe in that old wisdom of “The devil is in the details.” However, shortcuts become the hottest commodity… It is unnecessary to burn all of your energy trying to fight against what you will never be able to control. Save your strength for surviving the process and sifting through the aftermath.

“Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.” – William James

Acceptance is the gateway to real recovery…

When I first lost my eyesight, some saw my immediate acceptance as a sign of my defeat. People were arguing with me not to give up. But I WASN’T giving up.

I was only excepting the reality that my eyesight was gone, rather than torturing myself by trying to deny what I had lost. Or worse, spending my life in the limbo of waiting for it to be undone.

Rather than struggling in the waves of denial, I chose to take my circumstances and use them like a rope. I would use this obstacle as a tool, pulling myself out of that pit.

Key Take-Away: Typically I believe in that old wisdom of “The devil is in the details.” However, shortcuts become the hottest commodity… I decided to see my situation as a starting point, not an ending. Beginnings can tell you everything you need to know to move forward.

“Achieving success is a challenge, but so is struggling, so you may as well choose success.” – Rob Liano

It is okay to take stock of what you feel you have lost…

The only condition that I will add to this is that digging deep and taking stock is only beneficial if you do not allow yourself to wallow in self-pity.

There were so many things that I had lost when I lost my eyesight:

I lost my job.

I lost a lot of my hobbies.

I even lost the ability to look at the faces of the people that I loved.

I lost my independence.

I even lost my sense of self.

Allowing myself to go through the emotions of loss for what I felt had been taken from me had freed me from the chains of regret. So rather than finding myself tettered in sorrow, I was able to transform my losses into a goal list.

I took everything that I felt I had lost and turned into into a list of goals.

Key Take-Away: Typically I believe in that old wisdom of “The devil is in the details.” However, shortcuts become the hottest commodity… I took stock of what I had lost and found my starting points toward winning my life back. Along the way, I even encountered ways to improve what might have been missing in the first place.

“It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life story will develop.” — Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Sometimes it can take an earthquake for you to realize that your foundation was flawed from the beginning…

I am sure that happiness varies from person to person. But I was not a very happy woman before I went blind. I hated my job. I was always exhausted.

I struggled every day of my life.

I spent so much of my time trying to navigate adulthood and responsibility that I completely forgot about myself. I was too focused on everyone else. I never even thought about my wants and needs.

Key Take-Away: Typically I believe in that old wisdom of “The devil is in the details.” However, shortcuts become the hottest commodity… If I spent my time focusing on everyone else, I never had to worry about the more challenging questions about my sense of self.

“Adversity introduces a man to himself.” – Albert Einstein

Sometimes starting all over is what you TRULY needed in the first place…

Starting over becomes more and more daunting the older that you get. That does not mean that a fresh start was not exactly what you had needed to fix what you might have failed to acknowledge before.

Having to start over is why summing up your losses can be a necessary step.

Because I had taken the time to access what I had felt were lost, I recognized that I was never happy in the first place. So I knew that finding my happiness would be a pivotal point in my road to recovery.

This meant I needed to figure out precisely what it would take for me to be happy.

Key Take-Away: Typically I believe in that old wisdom of “The devil is in the details.” However, shortcuts become the hottest commodity… Sometimes, to fix what feels the most broken, you find that the whole system was flawed, to begin with. Now you need to find a focus point.

“The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive.” – J.K. Rowling

Having to start over can be a great excuse…

Starting over from bare rock bottom gives you the perfect excuse to chase your dreams.

I won’t pretend to know what other people dream of, but I knew precisely what dream I had buried deep into my heart. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always wanted to be a writer. I would even write out my favorite movies so that I could feel like a real writer.

I never bothered to pursue that dream because it felt too unrealistic.

I was always terrified that my writing was, at best mediocre, or at worst, just awful.

Sometimes, it takes losing EVERYTHING to help you to realize what is actually more important. Starting over entirely also tends to eliminate some of your fears about what others might think.

Key Take-Away: Typically I believe in that old wisdom of “The devil is in the details.” However, shortcuts become the hottest commodity… Once enough trauma has weaved itself through your life, you will eventually hit a breaking point.

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” – Hellen Keller

Once you know what you want, heaven help those that might stand in your way…

I know that losing my eyesight has definitely changed my perspectives about the opinions of other people.

Since I have spent most of my life miserable, I have finally learned to let it go. Who cares what someone else might have to say if what I am doing gives me genuine happiness and causes no harm to others?

Life is too short and unpredictable to keep you from chasing happiness with the same joy and abandon that a dog chases his tail.

Even if the most challenging part is making yourself take that very first step.

Key Take-Away: Typically I believe in that old wisdom of “The devil is in the details.” However, shortcuts become the hottest commodity… Life is short. The only opinion that you have time for is your own.

“Don’t be distracted by criticism. Remember, the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you.” – Zig Ziglar

And also…

“Life is like a wheel. Sooner or later, it always comes around to where you started again.” – Stephen King

Lastly…