Anyone who has ever become anything worth writing home about has had to handle fire and brimstone with naked hands, boldly face all obstacles and adversities with courage and determination to score handful of victories.
Life gives a chance to mend cracks to avoid repairing a wall in the future. Character formation involves repeated actions and habits and for you to repair a character you have to continuously change actions and habits.
Your greatest highs come from overcoming your greatest lows. To be an overcomer, you have to deal with the minor, those things and characters that don’t seem to have a major impact. It’s a step by step process. To comfortably handle a million dollar, you must have experienced how to handle hundred and thousand dollars. To drive a truck for 1000 miles, you must have experienced driving a car one hundred miles. Battling wolves today strengthens you for battling lions tomorrow.
“Moving rocks today strengthens you for moving mountains tomorrow.”
― Matshona Dhliwayo
Life will always present packages of hardships and they will be very relevant as they will determine your next move and level. One of the most fulfilling things in life is facing obstacles and overcoming them. Some of the means to overcome might be even acquiring a skill, studying some materials, consulting and going an extra mile to find better ways of overcoming it. Just like taking your time first to sharpen the axe to easily cut a tree. We sometimes have to venture into some training, skills or exposure to overcome an obstacle.
“We may not be able to cross a river by walking, but if your desire to cross the river is strong enough you can learn to swim.”
― Debasish Mridha
Life is like a stairway where you climb a step at a time. You strain to raise your leg to step to the next stair to go high above your previous level. You have to overcome one stair to go to the next. Every difficulty draws us toward a higher power than ourselves. What makes a difference is how you perceive it and respond to it.
A ship doesn’t sink because it is in the ocean in the midst of a storm. It only sinks when it leaks, and the ocean get inside it bit by bit.
If God closes a door and a window, consider the fact that it might be time to build a whole new house. You do not have stay there crying and mourning, no. Square up your shoulders and scale new heights. Dig up another strong and firm foundation and after setting it up don’t call that success. You have got to put up the structure bit by bit.
“Success is not to be measured by the position someone has reached in life, but the obstacles he has overcome while trying to succeed.”
― Booker T. Washington
Before you reach your destination, you’ll find yourself going through the wilderness. There’s some survival skills that you’ll need master through the wilderness journey. While in the wilderness, your faith will be tried and tested. You’ll become humble. Your vision for your life will get clearer. You’re in training for your purpose. You’ll lose some friends, because there’s some folks who are only with you because of where they think your journey will lead them. Don’t worry, they’re a little confused… but it was meant for them to get lost during this phase. Walk on. Continue on your journey. Soon, you’ll be approaching the mountain. Get ready to climb!” It is at the peak that you will enjoy beautiful horizons and your distractors will not be distracted to witness you at the top. These wilderness, mountains and valleys will prepare you for greater purpose, glory and testimonies.
When you start in life, if you find you are wrongly placed, don’t hesitate to change, but don’t change because troubles come up and difficulties arise. You must meet and overcome and conquer them. And in meeting and overcoming and conquering them, you will make yourself stronger for the future.
The overcoming of adversity and, ultimately, denying it the rite of passage, has been a constant and perpetual motive throughout my life. I do not give a damn to adversities of any kind. I did not allow the street to conquer me but I rose and overcame the challenge and influence. As an investor, there are a lot of risks, losses and uncertainties involved but conquering them pays the highest returns. I always face fear on the face and command it to back off.
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ Eleanor Roosevelt
Some of us have scissors in law rather than sister in law. They cut and tear you apart, they threaten your marriage and you feel like giving up. They squeeze you to the wall and open their mouth wide open as if to swallow you and the only person who you can count on is your husband who rather opt to side with them. You have to overcome this. Put on a thick skin and fight on with love.
Some have bothers rather than brothers. They are just reckless with their lives, drinking their lives to death, fighting over properties and nagging parents through their old age to the coffin. They are an embarrassment anytime you see them around you. Just know that they are your blood brothers and you have a responsibility to love them the way they are. Develop a thick skin and play a compassionate brother/sister role. Overcome it and fight the battle in love.
There are a lot of bitter people in the society around us. Everyday there is a person around who is passionate on annoying you and if not careful they will hurt you. You have to be careful when interacting with them and chose not to respond to insults. Don’t let their arrogance affect your mood. Overcome them.
Sometime even when buying an Avocado, normally you have to gently press it to check if it is ripe. If you dare press it, the seller might respond,’ Wewe! Unafinya Avocado kwani unafikilia iyo ni Ugali?’ If you ask the seller whether it’s good for immediate consumption, she might respond,’Kwani niko apo ndani nijue kama imeiva?’
You might be calling someone at night just to find out how they are doing but the response could be disgusting. You might ask the person, where are you and get a response,’Niko nje naota jua.’ It’s at night and someone tells you that s/he is out enjoying the sunshine.’ Just take it easy and overcome the insult by composing yourself and showing love.
When you become bitter with other people, this will have a negative effect in you. Bitterness is the poison you take and expect the one who offended you will die. This is the poison that corrodes the heart. You have to develop a thick skin, love people unconditionally and love yourself too much to avoid other people’s stress to wear you out. Overcome all odds.There are no smooth paths to success. You have to straighten many rugged roads and scale numerous walls for the ultimate triumph. Everything meaningful encounters resistance, don’t get scared of whatever comes your way, just go with the right strategy and plan, there you’ll overcome it at last. All successful people learn to navigate diverse personalities. So don’t lose hope after failure, try other ways and you’ll reach there.
Without difficulties, life would be like a stream without rocks and curves – about as interesting as concrete. Without problems, there can be no personal growth, no group achievement, no progress of humanity. But what matters about problems is what one does with them.
The difference between a stumbling block and a stepping stone is how high you raise your foot. You become limitless when you overcome what holds you back.
Sometimes you have to ask for help to overcome. You might require the services of a professional eg a counselor, pastor, legal advisor, consultant etc to get ideas and knowledge that will help you overcome with ease. Do not hesitate to seek help where need be.
Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people. – Steve Jobs
No matter what you are attempting to achieve, it will not happen without sacrifice, hard work, a positive environment, a positive mental attitude, passion, determination, meditation, introspection, prayer and vision. Never use the word try, just do what you need to do to get to the next step. Don’t make excuses, don’t blame others, don’t blame your circumstances. Take personal responsibility, surround yourself with good people and let go of anything or anyone who tries to stop you from doing what you need to do to become the best you. Watch for distractions and distractors because they are everywhere. If you have a big destiny, you’re going to have to meet and face some big obstacles. But the good news is that your strength and power is big enough to conquer them all. You are strong enough to overcome all obstacles in your way and to fulfill your Destiny.
No great destiny comes without great challenges and sacrifices.
If there are no barriers to cross or obstacles to overcome in the journey to reach your desired destination, how can you call it a success?
Some people will just go with the flow of things and sway in life, while others will fight against the currents and go upstream to reach their destiny.
You have to focus ahead and don’t allow people and circumstances to distract you. The good old stories should not make you dwell there. Purpose to write a new story from today henceforth.
Our eyes are in front because it’s more important to look ahead than to look back. Don’t dwell on things in the past. Learn from them.
Take the burden of the past to Christ and release them. You need energy to focus.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Mathew11:28
You are very important in the eyes of God and He Has inscribed your name on His palm that He will never leave or forget you. You need to have determination and courage to forge ahead to pursue your great destiny. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows. Mathew10:30
You are no greater than the friends you keep, the books you read, the heroes you admire, and the obstacles you overcome.
Think of the most discouraging thing that you are currently carrying or the biggest project you can’t seem to tackle. Forget about how it happened, forget about how you got there, just look at the clock, and before that number changes, do one little thing to make it better. After you do, enjoy your moment of victory, and then do it again. In less than the time it takes you to blink, the past will burden you no more.
Happiness is not the absence of problems, it’s the ability to deal with them.
When you face adversities because they will come, remember the scriptures have solutions for everything. The bible reminds you always to fear not, to be strong and courageous. This is what God expects of you. You can ignore the scriptures but they cannot change. If the Lord says He will be with you and fight the battles for you, it is for you to believe it and let Him be Lord over the situation.
God will make you an example of someone He loves. God did a for example when He rescued Noah, when he destroyed a whole city of Sodom and Gomollah but rescued Abraham and Lot. If you overcome all odds and allow Him to take charge and take up the glory, He will make you a FOR EXAMPLE for people to be testifying about you.
