We all go through some form of failure in life whether we like it or not, but the truth is not everyone is equipped to handle it.
Two people can go through exactly the same experience and one can come out relatively unscathed, whilst the other may have some form of mental scar that affects the way they think and do things in the future. Sometimes with disastrous results.
It’s not something I read about but experienced and to be brutally honest, it’s not something I would wish others to go through. However, if we don’t experience something first-hand, we can never really understand how difficult and challenging it may be, no matter how good a writer someone is and how well they manage to describe something.
Feeling something brings a whole new level of understanding and reality.
That’s not to say good doesn’t come from reading articles, books and magazines. Far from it. It can and does add another dimension or a timely reminder of how we can view different and challenging situations and how we can use them to grow, something we’re not usually taught at a younger age.
We can get clarity when we see things in print, long after an event has clouded our minds through fear, doubt or insecurity. Our minds have a way of getting us to avoid what is perceived as a painful experience, for good reason; it wants to keep us safe. It’s been developed that way, but the problem is unless we understand that, we’re powerless to do anything about it and remain caught in the trap of deception through our own evolution as humans.
We get caught up in the cycle of repetitive thoughts, around negative events which just keeps playing the same loop. The only way we can change is when we decide to. We do have a choice but again the problem is all too often, we aren’t aware we really do.
This is where the reading can come in and help. In the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, he talks about hitting a block or challenge in life that seems insurmountable and that all is lost with no way out, and that from his own experience, we are often introduced to our ‘other self’.
This other self can only be described as our true self, our soul, whatever you wish to describe it, and it takes over when everything seems futile. It doesn’t understand fear, negativity, doubt or insecurity, nor is it deterred by the ego. It only understands the will to not merely survive but to seek ways to find out ‘how’ to improve the situation.
There is no right or wrong way, but there is A WAY. It is a combination that is difficult to describe but is something akin to grit, determination, sheer belligerence and a burning desire all rolled into one, but that doesn’t do it justice.
As I’ve said initially, it’s not something that can be written about in a few words and truly understood, it has to be experienced to feel its true meaning and power. If you do ever face a serious challenge, being aware you may be introduced to your other self, I hope will give you some inspiration to get through it all and ask yourself ‘What am I learning from this?’.
Painful as it may be, it really does help in our development in so many ways.