Sometimes you may feel like your life is full of challenges.  You complete a “challenge,” and then are almost immediately faced with another challenge.  It may feel as though a “time of rest” and a time to “coast” may never come.  For some, this may be somewhat true, but the question is “what is a challenge?”  Maybe your life is such that you only think it is challenging.

Challenges are subjective.  For one person, a challenge may be to find the energy to get out of bed in the morning, whereas for another, a challenge might be to get through their cancer treatment.  Other types of challenges are more mental in nature.  You may have a financial challenge to pay the rent and the electric bill, while others may have a financial challenge to pay all of their staff on time.

The nature and degree of challenges is not what matters.  The thing that matters is how you look at those challenges.  Do you accept them and embrace them, or attempt to “fight off” the challenge possibly arguing that “life is not fair?”  Let’s suppose you have a large project due next week.  It could be a school assignment, or something that you have been tasked with at work.  Now suppose you are not anywhere ready for the fast approaching deadline.

You have a couple of choices.  You can attempt to get an extension of more time, you can choose to work through it the best you can, or you can simply choose not to do it.  The key is to understand that you do in fact have choices.  Choices that may not be desirable – for they may have the consequence of a failing grade, or present the possibility of getting fired from your job.

When you are faced with a challenge such as these, we think it is a good time to reflect on how you got into this position, so that you might not be in this predicament again in the future, and to figure out what you are going to do about it.  Challenges may not be as difficult as we sometimes think.  Is there a way to simplify your life and thus simplify your challenges?  Is there any part of this challenge that you may be bringing onto yourself?

Look around your living space.  What in that space causes you more concern, anguish and challenges, that you simply do not need?   Do you have expensive tile that you are always scrubbing?  Would a less expensive vinyl covering be less maintenance and worry?  There are lots of things that we place into our lives – such as our electronic gizmos that may help simplify our life, but may come at a cost as well.  Electronic devices seldom work all the time as intended, and can become a strain – if we let it.

A challenge may be like climbing a mountain – when you get to the summit you can sit for a few minutes to enjoy the view.  However, you cannot wait too long, for the afternoon storms may be approaching and you need to begin your descent back to the base.

The “challenge” for you, is to figure out how you can enjoy the view longer, and simplifying your life so that the time between challenges are longer.  Sometimes, we need to look around at others who seem to be in a constant state of relaxation and “stress-free” for answers.  If you know of someone like this, observe their behaviors, look around their house, and watch how they handle adversity.

InspiraCard

Sometimes, we spend all of our energy focusing on improving our way of living, with the things that we wear, the furniture in our home, and the electronics that we carry, that we forget how much stress these things can incur.  Simplify your life, and watch some of the so-called “challenges” disappear.

Written Sat Jan 25, 2014, 9:21 – 9:38 AM MT