3 Ways to Find your Strength in the Struggle

Goodbye, April. Hello May. How are you today?

The month of April each year is celebrated as Poetry Month. I sure did have a blast writing. May is recognized as Mental Health Month, and the passage continues.

Ethan Hawke, in a TED Talk, arouses the value of Poetry on Mental Health. Mental Health is one of those struggles that impacts 1 in 5 Canadians. I’ve experienced the debilitating effects of Mental Illness. How then can one get through this and find your strength?

In one of my recent blogs, I wrote, “How Writing Saved my Life”. As we enter into May, let’s get ready to find your strength in the struggle.

Watch the TED Talk with Ethan Hawke: Give yourself permission to be creative

Why I Write

Every morning I open my eyes
and feel the blood flowing life
my senses functioning in sync
my words unfolding at will.
The thoughts that unearth in me
is never the same as a tree
feeding on the earth the same
growing and turning the craft to claim.

It’s my words I write today
and yesterday those words will stay
tomorrow new words will play
and that’s why I write so to you I can say.

My Prayer
Today I set my mind to pray
Today I lift my hands to say
All to Jesus I surrender this day
Take me Lord and use me to glorify your name.

Every broken piece
I know You can truly heal
Fill my heart with joy
Help me your love to see
Peel away the grip of sin
Give me new life within
For I am lost at sea
And long to be free indeed.

Today I bring my life as a sacrifice
Only to You for the gift of your son a price
May my words be acceptable
For in You I know I am truly free.

Recently I had the opportunity to have a conversation with a friend. That conversation got me thinking about the word struggle.

A struggle is a real experience and is often seen as a negative word. The struggle is part of our reality. Before we were born, there was a struggle. In the last moment of breath, there is a struggle. Life is a struggle.

Why then do we consider struggle a negative? On the flip side, the struggle can shape a forward-thinking mindset. Here are three (3) things that will give you strength through the struggle.

ONE: Don’t Give Up
It is painful. Yes. It is frustrating. Yes. It seems never-ending. Yes. The list can go on but don’t give up. Your ability to consistently strive for better is the determination to realize your purpose through frustration. Often we stop and dwell on the burden points while missing out on the clues and answers presented to keep pressing forward.

“It is in the doing, that clues are given”.

Every step forward is another step closer to your destination. Just don’t stop. Each effort pulls into making something a reality and is compounded with the necessary added resource to complete it.

I am very good at starting things. If you need something started, I am there. However, I struggle to finish. That is my challenge. This piece is one written to me. In writing this, it was my challenge to not give up but to press through and complete it. Giving up is so easy and it defies the struggle. In that defiance, the value is never realized. Now, what sort of life is that to live.

TWO: Remain Resolute
Knowing what you believe and allowing it to be your key is of utmost importance. I value my words and the thoughts I share. However, the struggle is real. It seeks to erode those values with subtle perfectionism, disqualification of credentials, or the infamous negative mind conversations. Yes, they will come, but they don’t need to stay.

You are worth more than the negative detractors. You are valued more than the assumptions and speculative indulgence. Here is the truth. You are one in a million on this planet. You are so unique that there is no one else exactly like you. Hence the world needs you.

We are often hypnotized to follow the crowd. There is so much strength in the community. The reality is in the unique contribution you bring to that community. Recognize it. Believe it. Live it. Receive it. Dream it. Embrace it. Express it. Be the one that brings out the God-given life, and yes, be resolute.

THREE: Keep the End in Mind
Having a vision of where you are going is critical to achieving that goal. Vision is that one insight that establishes clarity and direction. Hindsight is only a hindrance to creativity. It prevents you from cultivating the mission towards the vision. Vision paves the path to the purpose that is implanted inside the core of your being. Don’t allow anything or anyone to distract you from the vision. Keep it ever before you and always in front.

BONUS: Celebrate wins
We tend to focus on losses, failures, and mistakes. They are but lessons in the struggle. Therefore, here’s an opportunity to internally celebrate. Every piece of information gathered in the struggle is to help you move forward. Also, recognize that you are making small steps to the end. Remember keeping the end in mind offers the right perspective and allows you to be able to make the necessary adjustments as needed.

Your struggle is not to break you down but to build you up. Your struggle is also to lift another. Life is a struggle, and every journey along that path is one to realize that there is amazing strength, and you are invigorated by the struggle to create, produce, to deliver to the world who God made you be.

“To thine own self be true”.
Act 1, Scene 3, Shakespeare’s, Hamlet.

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Hi. My name is O Stephen and I get to help aspiring writers write with passion while finding their voice. My vision is to Inspire Change, Sharing Stories, and Connecting Perspectives. Join me on releasedexpressions.com while we go Beyond Journeys.
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