In The Face of Adversity
“Being thankful for what you have today for tomorrow. That’s the power of gratitude.”
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
What the fuck? How does that even make sense and what does that have to do with adversity or gratitude?
Let’s dive into it.
Essentially it means to utilize patience, accuracy, and precision. By doing so you can increase the chances of success in what you’re currently pursuing in life. Thus engaging a persistent and resilient mindset for what is to come. A focus based mindset so to speak. It has been referenced via the military, martial arts and even in mindfulness articles.
By slowing down and focusing your performance increases.
In another perspective, by slowing down in life you can truly take the time to appreciate and be grateful for what you have. The nice part is when you’ve already invested in certain parts of your life you get to have something worth looking forward to on a consistent basis and not only that but enjoy the moment as well simultaneously. If you’re looking for more motivation to fuel your fire look no further: Starting The Fire Within.
An attitude of gratitude can go the extra mile.
Luckily I have had the opportunity to integrate this timeless quote and become more grateful overall. This has truly helped me be more persistent in the parts of life I am looking to be more persistent in and stay resilient when obstacles knock me back. Remember: If you can look up, you can get up.
That is why I want to share it with you.
But first, a huge thank you to Patrick Buggy, Founder of Mindful Ambition. Follow his Coaching Journey on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Medium!
This man has helped me tremendously over the past 3 years transforming my life into one of not only mindful ambition, literally, but he has also helped me open my mind and eyes to a new way of life that has increasingly made things easier in almost every avenue fathomable.
So let’s get into how we can continue to pursue the greater parts of our lives in the face of adversity.
Everyone has their own journey in life and their own challenges to overcome. Things can get a little sticky from time to time so it’s nice to have a friendly reminder that no matter who you are, where you are from, where you are going or where you’re at in life you can always keep moving forward.
Becoming more and more truthful with yourself helps a lot in the long run of life. Truth and clarity go hand in hand. The more clarity you have in life the more you can overcome pain, suffering, fear and get closer each and everyday to what you’d like out of life. Although pain and fear are both inevitable they can be used as gauges for how to test our limits in life. The difference is pain is going to be there for some time whether it takes longer to process or not. Fear on the other hand can be learned, chosen, unlearned or used. For some of us it’s a big motivator (whether aware or not). For others it is chosen (whether desired or not). Some learn to fear from experience. Others use it against each other. Few let it go.
Keeping this perspective in mind we can mitigate the negativity that lurks about. You always have a choice. Everyday. Remember that. You have power in your own life. Don’t let fear decide your fate.
Choice plays a big part in every single person’s life. Especially when dealing with high stakes circumstances. That’s why I can wanted to preface with the correlation and relevance of fear and pain. It is in everyone’s life and we can all relate to it at some point. Maybe not to the same degree yet it is still relatable. This is why I see meditation and mindfulness itself as such a great practice for assisting the mind to calm itself and recoup out of a fight-or-flight mindset. It will increase the ability in anyone’s life to take patience into full effect. Not only that but it can be a perfect time and place for reflecting on what you are grateful for.
Science has proven that meditation improves cognitive functions in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, thalamus, midbrain and hippocampus. There are plenty of benefits from meditating besides just overall sense of well-being. It can improve self awareness, focus and stress management as well for the long term. If done consistently this can truly transform one’s life.
With all of these positive outcomes from one practice you can see how anyone could be more persistent or even resilient in their own endeavors.
So take the time to enjoy life and reflect on what you currently have. It sure beats having nothing at all. When the time comes, keep pursuing your goals. Don’t give up.
If you do feel like giving up remember why you started, who you’re doing this for (that could be yourself or others), what you’re looking to accomplish, when you want things to change (is there a deadline?), how it’s going to happen and where you want to be in life.
A mind full of gratitude, patience, persistence and resilience is one to be rewarded in time. Not just for the sheer thought of accomplishment but for the benefit it reaps when influencing others. There is potential in it everyday for our communities, networks, ourselves and globally. This is a strong combination for connecting like never before.
Instead of a beautiful quote I will leave you with this motivational video featuring Eric Thomas. He has also helped me through some tough times in life. His motivational speeches are energizing, empowering and inspiring. Good luck once again on whatever you choose to pursue in life. May it be for the greater good of not only yourself but those around you.
