How it all began.
My name is Niel Rowe. I will be using this medium to share with you my musings and thoughts – out loud. My desire is that they will inspire and challenge you. For years I have been sharing thoughts with my inner circle, and am now excited to invite you into that circle. Will you join me?
Your Struggles are real – and you have what it takes to overcome
Life has a way of teaching us valuable lessons, whether through our own personal experiences, our observations from people around us, or from experiences shared with us by persons seeking advice. Sometimes we learn through anecdotes we may have read or heard. Regardless of the medium through which we have learned such ‘Life Lessons’, we are usually better off because of it.
I have had the privilege of listening to and offering my advice to others navigating particularly challenging situations, and I have seen first hand their transition from a state of self doubt given their situation, to a place where they have developed an inner strength beyond their wildest dreams, because of their determination to overcome. One’s perspective in challenging times tends to change as one grows to recognize they cannot do it alone, combined with the conviction that giving up is not an option.
Through various experiences over the years, I can summarize a broad observation as follows:
“Your situation is never so grave that you cannot get through it. Whether or not you do totally depends on you. If you purpose within yourself that you will overcome despite your situation, then you WILL. The determining factor, therefore, is not really whether you have the capacity or strength to get through; instead, success rests in your PERCEPTION of your ability to get through it, which then shapes your level of resolve, and the strategies you adopt in your efforts to overcome.
Overcoming your current situation can only yield positive benefits, chief among which is the expansion of your capacity to overcome similar or even greater challenges in the future. I do believe that when we face challenges in life that are far beyond our own power to overcome, they provide opportunities for us to strengthen our faith while developing within us a level of patience which we would not otherwise have attained. I have learned that how we respond to challenges plays a significant part in their ultimate outcome.”
You are not alone
Have you ever found yourself baring your soul to someone, perhaps even a stranger, only to find out that the struggles that you thought were unique to you are actually not so unique after all? Further, has such a conversation ever served to put things into perspective: that your situation is not as insurmountable as you thought? As human beings, we are in a collective struggle to make in through each day and somewhere, someone else is fighting a similar battle as yours.
The magnitude of our individual struggle often depends on:
• Our current situation
• Our past experiences
• Our future expectations
• Experiences of others that we are aware of
• Our recognition that sometimes we cannot do it alone
• A determination that no matter how our situation evolves, we will not give up.
Whichever applies, we may find that we either become overwhelmed and find the struggle too much to bear; or we become frustrated at ‘yet another problem in our sad, unbearable life’ ; or, hopefully, we might know exactly what approach to take in our current situation therefore setting us up for success.
