It is inevitable that we will all encounter some hardships in our lives. Even Buddhist philosophy claims that life is suffering in the Four Noble Truths.
Sometimes, life gets a little harder and other times life can get a lot harder.
What is certain is that you will undoubtedly experience many more hardships to come.
And they come in many different forms.
It can come from voluntary means like choosing to eat the healthier meal choice at dinner, or studying hard for an important exam, or doing high intensity training to improve your health.
It could also come from involuntary means like a high-stress job, a troubled marriage on the rocks, coping with the loss of a loved one.
Living a positive, high-energy life becomes that much more difficult to achieve.
When facing such monumental challenges, it’s easy to just curl up into the fetal position and stay in bed.
You may be surprised to know that a lot of people do just that. Even high-level executives of Fortune 500 companies can fall prey to overwhelming expectations and pressures.
In the most dire situations, some of these people give up, while others stop caring altogether.
Unfortunately, this happens to people all the time.
But then there are those who are made of stronger stuff.
Those that are mentally tougher and don’t get defeated even when hardships come head-on.
They stand up even taller, stare hardships in the eyes and say: “BRING IT ON!”
These are the ones who like the pain and suffering because it makes them feel alive. They are the ones who can stomach a bit of discomfort in order to get the bounty to come.
They are the ones who grit their teeth and force out 3 more push-ups than they’ve ever done before. The ones who refuse to slow down doing the high knees, despite the overpowering, burning sensation that consumes their bodies.
They understand that challenges are nothing more than learning opportunities and they will be better because of them.
They know that it’s the hardships that make the happy moments all the brighter – that every single moment of life is to be cherished because it can be taken away so easily.
They are the ones who understand that the sweet is never as sweet without the sour.
In Loving Memory,
“To Live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche