How To Overcome Tough Times

          Tough times are normal part of life and no one is above them, neither immune to them. Even our Lord Jesus Christ, Joseph, Apostle Paul and other exemplary bible personalities and great men and women in our world have all faced or experienced tough times. However, for some people tough times can mark the end of their progress while for others it can cause great positive changes in their lives.

Whether tough times leave you broken or make you stronger depends on how you deal with them. Tough people are able to stand firm and survive tough times by meeting up with their challenges and eventually become conquerors. When tough people are face with difficult situations that are impossible to tackle, they equip themselves with wisdom and strength thereby making them positive rather than being decimated.

Tough people are those who are able to hold their head up, stick their chest out, shake out laziness from their body, and find their inner strength to project forward. Those who are unable to overcome their trials end up becoming an epitome of failure. Tough times makes life to be optically active, it can rotate us either to the left (trials) or to the right (pleasure) and the ability to survive through tough times is what makes life to be worthwhile and interesting. Every trial makes you stronger and makes your story better.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TOUGH TIMES

1. It is only temporary: Whatever the situation you are facing even though it may be pretty damn bad, there is always an end. It may take days months or years and it may not always be as planned but it will surely come to an end. You just have to remain strong and allow this notion to enable you get through. Tough times never last forever.

2. Pay it forward: Sometimes the best way to forget about how tough things are for you is to realize other people struggles and lend them a helping hand. Try to help someone else and see how much smaller your issue become even if just for a little while. Always remember that you are not the first person to pass through that particular situation, others have passed through similar situations that are way worse than yours. As long there is life there is surely hope.

3. Practice gratitude: When we take the time to recognize and be thankful for the things that we have, we tend to think less of the things we lack. Those who practice gratitude tend to be more creative, bounce back quickly from adversity and have a stronger immune system for surviving through tough times.

4. Don’t be afraid: One of the biggest barriers to facing tough times is the fear of the unknown. The truth is most of the fears we have never actually come to exist. Let go of your fears for they serve no positive purpose, rather they create negative energy that prevent us from moving forward. Fear is the easiest way to be defeated when facing tough times.

HOW TO KEEP GOING WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH

1. Self Motivation: Self motivation is the ability to do what needs to be done without influence from other people. People with self motivation can find a reason and strength to complete a task which is needed to survive tough times. You have to stay motivated to give your best when the going gets tough. Self motivation enables us to devise a strategy for staying on top of our game, because what you choose as your motivation is central to whether you will be able to get tough when the going becomes tough.

2. Vision: Vision is an inspirational description of what an individual would like to achieve or accomplished in the mid term or long term future.         It is intended to serve as a clear guide for choosing current and future courses for action. Vision drives us to persevere through tough times it gives meaning to why we face up and downs in life. Proverbs 28:19 says “where there is no vision the people perish”. The result of not having vision leads to destruction.

3. Goal setting: Goal setting involves development of an action plan designs to motivates and guide a person towards a goal. Goal is a desire result that people envisions plans and commit to achieve a personal desired ends point. Walking towards achievable goals makes you to struggle through tough times and gives you a meaningful reason to get tough and survive through tough times. For example a blacksmith who has a goal of making a sword will have to first of all make the iron ore into steel after undergoing processes that involves the use of fire and water et al. When you have a goal like that of a blacksmith you will acknowledge the fact that you have to go through the process of refining for you into achieve success.

4. Knowledge: Knowledge is fact, information, and skills acquire through experience or education. You need to be informed of the situation you are going through to enable you deal with them out rightly and intelligently.

5. Be Positive: You must surround yourself with positive things. These positive things include people, surroundings, reading and partaking in wholesome entertainment. It is important to remain in a positive environment because when surrounded with negativity, you tend to have a negative mindset towards dealing with your challenges.

6. God Factor: Without God, you will be unable to survive through tough time even after getting tough. It is God who gives us the grace of confident to face our challenges. G race is the enzyme that catalyzes our self motivation, vision, knowledge, goal and attitude to produce success. A tough man who is backed by the grace of God enjoys unlimited victory. According to John 15:6, Jesus says “without God ye can do nothing”.

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.