One of my favourite authors of all times, Jim Rohn, wrote a very special book called ”The greatest Salesman in the world”. What makes this book special is that there are universal lessons and reminders built into an ancient story. In this book, the main character received a gift of ten scrolls containing life lessons. On one of the scrolls is written: “I will persist until I succeed”. In other words, I will hang on and persevere until I am successful. When the going gets tough, one of the scrolls reminds the recipient of the scrolls that ”This too shall pass”. No matter how tough it gets, no matter how dark the night, the sun will always rise again, if you can just hang on a little bit longer, take one more step, keep on moving because “Never will you know how close success lies, unless you turn the corner”.
Perseverance means to persist, to keep on keeping on, and sticking to your plan, no matter what happens. And keeping on going is tough sometimes. I get it! It is hard work to keep on digging and digging in a back-breaking fashion, hoping to strike it lucky and maybe find some diamonds. But digging and digging with no result can bring one to a place where you just want to give up! We all feel like that sometimes.! But you know the story of the person who gave up and stopped digging half a meter from where the diamonds were. He came so close, yet it was so far, he walked away with nothing. What if he just persevered for a little while longer, took one more step, yielded his spade one more time..?
Here is what you can do in those “Oh! What is the use?” –times. Here is what you can remind yourself in those “I just cannot go on any more” –times:
1. You overcame tough times before. You can do it again.
The current rough patch might not feel like anything you have worked through before. But you have successfully overcome the last difficult situation. And if you think back to that time, you will remember that perhaps you were worried that you might not have what it takes to overcome the obstacle… and then you did! So this time around, remember that you proved yourself wrong the previous time, you will probably prove yourself wrong again, because you are much stronger than you think.
2. It won’t feel this bad forever
“This too shall pass” says Jim Rohn. We are not very good at predicting our feelings and actions (or the future, for that matter) when we are in the thick of a difficult situation. In fact, in the midst of a crisis, we think that we will always feel the way we do now,… awful! But this is not true! Yes! It might be awful now but it will never be awful for as long as, and as much as we think it will. So no matter how bad you feel right now, know that you will not feel this way forever.
3. You are not your problems
Don’t let your circumstances determine who or what you are. You are not your problems. You are not your enemies, your job status, or bank account or the really messy divorce or anything else that has ever happened to you. Who you are is far beyond any external situations and circumstances or experiences.
To get out of the funk:
- Accept that things will change – keep looking on the bright side, remain hopeful.
- Ask for help if you need to. Do not keep struggling on your own. Asking for help is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness.
- Stay positive and laugh as often as you can, even if you have to laugh at yourself, sometimes!
- Focus on things that make you happy. Read a book, go for a walk, run yourself a nice bubble bath.
- Above all, do not fall in the trap of letting your past define your future. Keep moving forward.
This too shall pass… never do you know how close success lies, until you turn the corner. A bright new day awaits on the other side of darkness.