CHALLENGE LIFE; DON’T LET IT CHALLENGE  

                                          YOU               

‘Man is born free, but, alas, he is everywhere in chains’- Rousseau.

May be Rousseau said these words in a different situation and context. But this statement is absolutely ‘true regarding our students.’ They are chained by their parents, teachers, friends and society.  Every student has to face the following questions and find one’s own answers for them. If the answers are satisfactory for him, I am sure, he can free himself from all the bonds of his surroundings and undesirable influences.

What is the purpose of a humanbeing’s life?  Is it making money? Is it attaining social status? Is it becoming succesful in our own way? Or is it salvation?  Whatever it is, all these aims have an underlying purpose; that is satisfaction and peace of mind.  Whatever we do, whatever we think, what we seek everywhere is the ultimate, pure satisfaction with peace of mind. Then arises the next question, how can we search, find and experience satisfaction? My answer for the above question is very simple; living our life in our own way, believing and recognising that we are the masters of our own lives, deciding and executing  our plans for the attainment of  our own aims.  

We have to feel the way through the darkness with  our own candle; don’t wait for others to light and hold it for us… but remember,  candles give us not only light, they give  us shadows also. Sometimes these shadows are darker, dangerous and challenging. But, definitely they can be cast away by a few balanced movements of the candle. Where most of us fail is in making these movements possible and skillful. We are afraid of newer shadows that may be created by our movements. Those who are not afraid to make the movements, plough the fields of better satisfaction and peace of mind. They are, in the ultimate analysis, called winners.

Problems are like the shadows mentioned earlier.  They are inevitable in the pursuit of success. But, like the shadows which can be cast away by changing the position of the candle, problems can be banished from our lives by our approach and modus operandi.

‘Adversity introduces a man to himself. The way you respond to situations you dislike reveals the depth of your character.’

Problems are adversity. They help us face life without apprehension and doubts. They prune and ripen us to bear fragrant flowers and sweet and tasty fruits. Let’s re read  Bacon’s famous quotation,                                                                                                                                                                                                                ‘Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, writing an exact man’ by rephrasing it a little in the light  of problems,  ‘problems make a full man, confrontation a ready man, solutions and exact man.’

Realise that problems are clouds that blur our vision. The brightness of sunshine can make them disappear in a few moments. It has been said that ‘some lessons are expensive, insulting and hurting. But they are worthy lessons.’ Some of the problems faced by us are expensive, insulting and hurting lessons. But, aren’t they worthy lessons?

What are the hurdles in facing the problems effectively?  There are so many. Do we have solutions? Sure. But, in my opinion, we have to face only one hurdle to overcome all the other hurdles. Do you know what that one is? It is the ATTITUDE OF MIND towards problems.

Bhartrihari’s words are relevant here,

            ‘Some people never begin anything, fearing failure; others begin but give up the moment a problem arises. The achievers are those who never give up whatever they have begun, regardless of the problems they encounter.’ The reason for this situation is, no doubt, the lack of the right attitude of the mind.

 Life challenges us with problems

Life challenges us with problems. It is one of the effective weapons of life to beat the will power of man.  If men do not fight it skillfully and tactfully he is lost forever.

Two types of problems

There are mainly two types of problems in our life. Problems created by our own minds and those caused by the external circumstances.  

The only thing you have to fear is fear-Roosevelt.

‘Some days, for no perceptible reason, I feel scared, lonely and hopeless. After a good night’s sleep or a talk with someone who holds my hand and tells me to keep going, I am usually fine.’

We undergo various mental tensions and stress from time to time even in the absence of ostensible problems.

        ‘Stress, in simple terms, is like a fire- more precisely, embers, permanent embers. We can either control them to be harmless embers and enjoy their glow or fan them into huge fires. Not knowing better, many of us do the latter.’

In fact, our mind creates baseless problems and tensions to increase our productivity and energy. We have to know that our mind cannot reamain in the same state for ever. Its mood is static.  It has to change. It is universal truth.Those who are carried to a bad state of mind due to these changes in mood are those who do not realise the positive sides of the mind games.  

We have to go along with the mind; not against them. We lose our balance when we fight  it without tactics.       Problems are there because mind needs them for keeping its balance. When we are tensed up, we have to tell  ourselves, ‘tension is a part of life, it cannot be avoided.’ Remember, ‘a little friction is needed to get traction.’  Why don’t we consider problems as ‘a little friction?’

John Kord Hagemann’s words are worth quoting here,

 ‘Why should we fight moods? Like the changing of lights in a theatre moods enable us to see and experience life in all its aspects.’

‘Circumstances are the wind and tide in the voyage of             life.’

The second category of problems is caused by the external circumstances.  The major external circumstances are people, situations or things. When we learn to control the above three factors, we see the problems disappearing by giving the absolute control of our life to ourselves.  

 How can we solve our day to day problems in life?  The first and best step is to approach the problem intellectually; not emotionally.  When problems arise, we are so blurred by the emotions that we forget to analyse them using our intelligence and wisdom. This makes our problems more complicated and confusing. No sooner we learn that we are trapped in the cobwebs of problems.  When we approach them with the help of our brain, we see each problem from every angle, find solutions with patience and overcome it.

A misty morning does not signify a cloudy day.

Problems are like the bush overgrown in a narrow forest track. We need some tools to clear them. The tools for clearing the problems are positive belief, approach, thought, indomitable will power, confidence, clear thinking, sufficient knowledge in the related matters and last but not the least,- the unfailing ability to control situations, men and matter.

A man who develops the above mentioned qualities through strong desire and auto suggestions (positive commands given by your conscious mind to the subconscious to influence and change it for positive results) embrace success. They make miracles happen. They attain self satisfaction and peace of mind

 Above all, they learn,

            ‘Tough time never lasts, but Tough people do.’                                          

 By,

Sadique.M.