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A couple of years ago, one of my friends dealt with a challenging situation that tested her faith, her strength and her morality. Her story inspired me in a lot of ways.
Because of the sensitivity of the situation and to protect her identity, let me change her name to Cecil.
It all started when the father of her 2 kids left her for another woman. Though that didn’t break her down, suffice it to say she had a hard time raising them on her own. While working as a full time employee, she still managed to maintain a small business on the side.
However, despite all her hard work, the stars didn’t seem to align in her favor. She lost her job and two weeks after that her mother, who was the only person helping her raise her kids, was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Great strength results from resisting temptation.
Around that time, she received an “indecent offer” from someone who claimed that he was just trying to be of help. In exchange for a huge amount of money, and by that I meant enough to cover her bills, loans, kids’ tuition fees and her mother’s hospitalization, she would have to agree to “escort” a rich, old businessman.
It was indeed a very tempting offer and an easy way out of her problems. But, she didn’t take it – a decision that made me admire her more.
Remind yourself that everything in life is temporary. The night will not go on forever; the sun will eventually come out.
Cecil told me it wasn’t that easy to refuse the “business proposal” and that for a while, she seriously considered accepting it. However, she decided to put it aside because she wanted to do the right thing and be considerate of her kids.
Although she was really struggling, she told me she had faith that all of her burdens would end soon.
A week later, she got a new job; and some of her relatives abroad contacted her to offer help for her mother’s treatment.
How many of us can keep a remarkable sense of strength in the face of tremendous adversity?
Exhibiting mental and emotional toughness is not that easy, but we have to learn how to do it so we won’t break down into pieces every time we face difficult circumstances in our lives.
Always keep your eye on the prize.
Be persistent and don’t give up easily on things that you really want and people that really matter in your life.
If your goal is to make your relationship last forever, work on it and have willpower to protect it, keep it strong and make it last forever.
To keep the fire burning and the love alive, here’s “5 More Secrets to Make Your Relationships Last.”
Strengthening the bond doesn’t have to be complicated all the time. You can do it just by simply making sweet moves like asking him how his day is going, surprising him with a cup of coffee or just saying “take care always.”
Emotions blind us from logic and reason so don’t be easily carried away nor get overwhelmed by it.
Instead, choose to remain calm and clear of thoughts during these difficult situations. You can make better judgments and sound decisions when you have a peaceful mind.
For instance, when you’re dealing with negative people, it’s best to use positivity against them. Remember that you are in charge of your emotions and on how you react to people and events in your life, so raise your awareness and stay patient.
Dr. Travis Bradberry provides insights on how to overcome these 6 toxic relationships that are polluting our lives.
Get in touch with your inner self and learn how to create balance in your mind.
Waking your consciousness expands your awareness of yourself and of the outside world. It helps you manage your emotions to make wiser choices and develop healthy relationships.
Balancing positive and negative thinking, on the other hand, increases your ability to respond to situations. Too much of both can limit your power to make the necessary changes.
Aside from meditation, here are other ways to strengthen your mind and body.
Actually, I’ve been practicing #4 for more than a month now and the effects are really amazing.
Keep on upgrading your life and never stop learning.
Always look for ways to improve yourself. Do not limit your thoughts and believe that you can always do better.
This article by Christine Hassler contains pieces of wisdom which will inspire us to keep our enthusiasm for life and for constant improvement – “5 Radical Life Lessons I Learned From People Over 80.”
“Comfort zones and routines promote aging.” So, work on constantly reassessing and renewing your goals. Don’t be afraid to take on new challenges and always keep your mind open.
To be strong means facing what makes you weak, have the willingness to improve and protect your boundaries, which means taking care of the ones you love and not letting others cross the limits you’ve set.
I try to remember that everything in time will turn out for the best. I try to find my inner peace daily but sometimes life is so stressful that I lose sight. I thought this article was great and uplifting!
I admire your friend’s strength through the hard times. Despite external support, staying positive is much harder than expected. I’ve seen friends breaking down to the point where they ignore any help we offered. Fighting their negativity with our positivity didn’t work because they were so blinded by their own negativity. I’m often at loss about what to do at such situations, so all I could do was to support them to the end.
The article on life lessons from people over 80 has some great thoughts for people of every age. My favorite one is also the easiest: get up in the morning and laugh!
The story about Cecil is so sad, and it’s disgusting that someone would try to take advantage of her terrible situation with a sleazy offer like that. I am so glad she had a happy outcome, she deserves it. I hope that her mother is able to get the treatment she needs.
I love how Cecil was strong when many women would not have been during such trying times. In all honesty, I think I may have even cracked under the pressure and took the easy way out. Kudos to her for knowing and maintaining her self-worth when she could have given in to the evil person who was trying to take advantage of her when she was most vulnerable.
Facing what makes you weak and having the willingness to improve….I like that. When it all comes down to it, we are the only ones who can achieve happiness for ourselves. Sometimes it might seem like things are never going to get better. But, if we persevere and refuse to let the bad things take us down,we will learn from it and become stronger to take on the next challenge we face.
I have been going through a really rough time over the last year with a job situation. I have to say that there were plenty of days when it seemed pretty bleak, but I kept telling myself that it couldn’t rain all the time. Eventually the sun would come out. That moment the sun breaks through the clouds is a truly life-defining moment!
Unfortunately some people will do anything for the sake of money. Cecil was lucky that she could tell the deal was off before she agreed to do it. Sometimes we ignored the bad vibes because we only thought about our own situations. Her story also reminds me that we are actually stronger than we thought if we really give it our all.
Keeping the negative out of your life is always a challenge. Life is going to be filled with different situations and some are going to be good and some will be bad, but it’s the way that we handle ourselves that make us stronger.
Always improve yourself! This is such an important statement! I am always trying to better myself. I am taking a class to get my motorcycle license early next month. I’m learning something new!
That’s a really good analogy. If you want to see a rainbow you’ve got to stand a little rain. The patience to get through the rough patches in life is the strength you need to pave yourself an easier path.