What We Need on Our Side to Overcome Life's Challenges

We can feel that in life, we need to avoid challenge or conflict as much as possible. It's easy to see why because we can all feel like we need to preserve our sense of self as we've got too much to do and not enough time to do it in. But the reality is that challenges are a major part of life, we just need to have the tools to overcome them. What are the things we need on our side?

A Support Network

We all have that feeling that when there's a challenge in front of us, we need to do it all by ourselves. This certainly can help us feel that sense of accomplishment, but the fact is that we can emerge on the other side far less battered and bruised if we have a support network that helps take the edges off. 

Whether it's legal help in the form of family solicitors during a divorce or a friend that has a sympathetic ear, a support network is there to give us encouragement and it makes us feel that, at the end of the day, even if we have gone off course we have the opportunity to convalesce and get back on the horse.

Acknowledging Your Feelings

A challenge is difficult. Many people refuse to accept the fact that something is hard, and so many of us decide to mask our feelings because we are fearful of being mocked for taking on a challenge that everybody else told us we couldn't achieve. Or we try to avoid engaging with those dark feelings during something like a divorce or separation because we don't want to crumble at this point. 

Feelings that go unacknowledged can come out in other ways later on. It's far better for you to feel what you really need to feel. Making time to sit and be with your thoughts can be very therapeutic. You could try something like meditation, or journaling is a very good way for you to engage those thoughts and bring them out of your head. Sometimes, seeing what we're thinking makes us understand those feelings better, but it also can help us realise that what we're feeling isn't actually as bad as we think it is.

Work Smart (and Do Not Give Up)

Persistence is the key to overcoming challenges, but so many of us waste energy going down the long path, thinking that if we come out on the other side, it will be worth it. But whatever doesn't kill us doesn't always make us stronger. 

This is why if you can find the optimal way of doing something by defining your goal and planning the process, this can take a lot less energy. It's at this point where we all need to practise self-care and have an understanding of where we are in the process. 

When we have a challenge in life, we shouldn't put our heads in the sand. A challenge is there to help us grow. After all, life wouldn't be life without challenges.

Until next time,

Saph x