Diligent Struggles

An anonymous writer said, “If you give up at the first sign of struggle, you're really not ready to be successful.” I was in a class where the majority of the students complained about how hard the class was. They channeled their energy to finding all the reasons why they needed to drop the class instead of viewing the struggle as an opportunity to gain strength and be better. We all deal with some kind of undesired struggle in our lives that causes us to want to quit. But, success (reaching a goal) comes from allowing the struggle to make us better on the journey. Let's look at three common struggles that we can overcome with proper diligence.

3 Struggles

1.    Self-Sabotaging – Our minds tend to be the number one down fall to our success. In our minds we tend to think negatively about ourselves first. We quickly label ourselves with thoughts of being unworthy, guilty, or discreditable. Our responses often include the “I can’t....” phrase. When sabotaging thoughts are allowed to dominate our views, they (struggles) become empowered and limit our chances for success.

Be diligent about believing in yourself! From the time you get up until the time you go to bed, be empowered with the thought of “I can...”. You may have limits and unknowns but be willing to learn and improve from them.  Don’t be afraid to rely on others that can help where you are weak. You mind is your foundation, don’t sabotage it with negativity.

2.    Fear – Angel Richards says, “Holding on to fear is like holding on to fire…but worse. Fire will burn you and take your life but fear will slow your life down and drag it out making it last f-o-r-e-v-e-r.” Fear inhibits our full potential and overcoming it can be a big hindrance to success. We often try to operate within fear which is like being stuck in the mud - a lot of spinning and noise but no movement.  Don't be "fear stuck".

Fear is only pushed out with faith - a hope in something that can't be seen but believed is possible in time. Have faith in yourself that you can make it. Take risks! Believe that there is a master plan for your life. Be willing to fail but don’t fail to get back up and try again. Remember, “Nothing beats a failure but a try.” Continuing to diligently confront the struggle of fear with faith will put you on the way to long term success.

3.    Un-productiveness – What we do daily builds the life we live. Some of our habits keep us forever struggling to be productive. Steve Maraboli said it best, “We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.” Our past unproductiveness can be changed to being productive with diligent energy to move forward to success.

Implementing these simple daily habits can help you avoid some major life struggles. Avoid overspending which leads to financial struggles. Stray from overeating which leads to struggles with health and low self-esteem. Steer from lying (because it leads to struggles with trust) and convert to finding ways to tell the truth. Prevent some struggles in relationships by not cheating and sleeping around. Cut out excessive partying and staying up late because they can lead to struggles in life and on the job. Run from quitting and giving up because it leads to struggles with being successful. Evade wasting time because it leads to struggling with achieving goals. Be diligent about making your life productive over your common struggles.

Summary – “As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better.” (Steve Maraboli) Your struggles for good and better can make you stronger if you allow them to. Work to put your mind to thinking the best about yourself, overcoming fear, and being productive every day. Diligent efforts can help you overcome your struggles and put you on the road to your success.

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