Are you feeling overwhelmed by life’s challenges? It can be hard to face up to difficult circumstances, but the truth is that challenges can be a great opportunity to grow and learn. By taking the time to really understand and overcome challenges, you can gain invaluable insight into yourself and life. Keep reading for 7 tips to help you in this process and make the most of any challenge you face.
Life can be pretty awesome! And many people, including me, tell you to remain positive and think good thoughts, and your life will be easy. While I still believe that is true, that doesn’t mean you won’t spend time overcoming challenges. In fact, I embrace those challenges in my life.
Think about some of the challenges you have endured in your lifetime. How long did you let them hold you back? Did you blame others for letting them happen? Did you feel shame or regret, or fear because something didn’t work out in your life? How many dreams have you let go of because they didn’t work out as you planned?
Now take another approach to challenges.
They happen to teach you something.
Every challenge that you encounter brings with it gifts.
One of the biggest challenges in my life so far was the loss of my mom, Marvel. As sad as I was after that, her death inspired me to take a really good look at my life. I started to challenge what I was doing and what made me happy. In the meantime, I was still raising my young children, so it wasn’t until they were out on their own that I could really reflect on what I wanted out of life. I know how lucky I am to still be alive and have the opportunity to start something new, and I wasn’t going to let it go. My mom’s death reminded me that life is short, and I need to make the most of this blessed life.
That’s how Living Marvelously started, and I continue to find ways to share this message with others.
Related Post: Why I Started Living Marvelously
Other Examples of Overcoming Challenges
(Taken from my new book “The 5 L’s of Living Marvelously”)
- Stephanie Myer, the author of the Twilight series, was rejected 14 times before someone finally said yes to publishing her book.
- Similarly, JK Rowling of Harry Potter fame was rejected 12 times before publication.
- Henry Ford failed five companies before he found the Ford Motor Company.
- Lucille Ball’s first films were failures, and she was even dubbed the “Queen of the ‘B’ Movies” in the 1930s and 1940s. Luckily, she went on to star in “I Love Lucy” and paved the way for women entertainers.
- Katy Perry was dropped by 3 record labels before landing with Capital Music and recording “I Kissed a Girl.”
- Bill Gates dropped out of college and failed at his first business.
- A producer in Baltimore fired Oprah Winfrey because she was “unfit for television.” She also endured childhood abuse. You know how that ended.
- Walt Disney came from a life of poverty and was fired once for his lack of imagination.
In all these cases, each person learned something from those failures and challenges and used it to keep going.
What if they had given up?
Tips for Overcoming Challenges
Don’t Give Up
If you feel passionate about something, don’t let anyone else sway you from believing in it! Keep bulldozing through the obstacles in your way.
Don’t Compare Yourself to Others
You’ve heard this before. Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s end. Before you compare yourself to someone else’s success, take a closer look at how long it took them to get there and how many challenges they overcame. Take your own path and use your unique skills and abilities. Only you know how to make your dreams come true.
Stay Positive
Stay positive by being aware of your unpleasant emotions and your limiting beliefs. What are you telling yourself that might not be true?
I’m not good enough
I need to fix myself first
It is too hard
I’ll never figure this out
Flip those beliefs around and create new thoughts about yourself. However, don’t be afraid to sit in your unpleasant emotions for a while and really discover why you are feeling them.
Be OK with Changing Course
Don’t be afraid to fail. It just means you tried, and that was not the right path. Change course. Find new ways to look at old problems.
Take Responsibility for What is Going Wrong
You are the creator of your life. There is no one else to blame. No one else can control how you think about yourself and your dreams. Take responsibility for challenges that come up, and be aware of how you can change your mindset about them.
Learn to Deal with Adversity
From an article about Overcoming Adversity on the Essential Life Skills website, “Cultivate faith, courage, and resilience. The more of these qualities you possess, the lesser the impact of the adversity. When you respond positively and constructively to your biggest challenges, the qualities of strength, courage, character, and perseverance emerge deep inside you.”
The more you practice, the easier it will be to overcome challenges.
Celebrate the Good!
Be grateful for where you are right now. Celebrate all the small successes and dreams that have already come true in your life. When we fixate on one problem and let it affect our whole life, it just attracts more problems. Break out of the funk and find the good in your life.
So, I encourage you to embrace challenges and be aware of what they are teaching you. If you feel like your life is a challenge on repeat, stop and listen to how you are thinking, talking, and believing about yourself. Take baby steps to change those around.
Take out your journal and reflect on these questions:
What challenges are you facing right now? How are you working on overcoming those challenges? What are you learning?
Life can be pretty awesome! Don’t let it slip by dwelling on what is challenging you. I’m rooting for you!
“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me. … You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” Walt Disney
Related Posts:
Love this Laurie!!❤️❤️❤️
Thanks for reading Barb!