Find a Purpose greater than your Pain
By Fatema Dewji ~ Director of Marketing at MeTL Group on 18 Apr 2020Inspiration
Now, I’m going to be honest with you all – the last few years have been the toughest of my life. It seemed like every time I got back up, I got knocked down again. During this challenging period we are all going through, in some way or another we are all struggling, feeling lost and uncertain.
A few years ago, I lived my life on autopilot: I would wake up, go to work, go to the gym, do my show, go back home, go to sleep, and do it all over again -- five and a half days of the same ritual, over and over. You don’t really have time to think when you’re busy with life. But with all the adversity this year, I could do nothing but think.
It’s during these dark moments in our lives when we find ourselves asking questions: Am I happy? Am I truly living and not just surviving? What am I living for? My mind was absolutely teeming with these questions as I struggled to come to terms with what had happened. It was as if all the feelings and thoughts I struggled with rose to the surface.
What sustained me during these troubling times were the relationships with the people I love and care about. It is okay to acknowledge when you are feeling weak, to seek help and comfort from your loved ones. In fact, admitting weakness is a great strength. You can overcome any adversity with the added strength of those around you.
We look up to those we admire and believe they have life all figured out. And that’s the big secret that no one wants to tell you: that there is no real formula to life because things will always change – change is the only constant. And that is okay. Not everything will go as planned, but that does not mean you should give up at the first sign of bad luck. You must have the patience to keep going, and the mental fortitude to get back up every single time you fall. And don’t forget your friends and loved ones along the way, because they are the ones that will pick you up off the ground.
While I might not have the formula to dealing with pain, I have a few hacks that I would like to share with you all….
- Lesson number 1 - Focus on building relationships, not just connections. Really spend time with your loved ones, and cherish every single moment with them.
- When you are with people - respect them, give them your full attention. Put your phone down and listen to what they have to say. You never know what you are going to learn
- Show up early, be kind and if you are going to do a job do it right, put your whole heart in it OR don’t do it at all.
- In the midst of trauma - Sometimes we need to tell ourselves what to think when our mind tells us things we don’t want to hear - That you can and will overcome and succeed and not just in spite of but precisely because of and that with the proper perspective and attitude – we have power
- Here is another lesson - Sometimes it gets HARD and its TOUGH and its PAINFUL and you get TIRED and you get WEAK and when you don’t know how to keep going sometimes all the strength you need is the strength to ask others for help
- That’s its ok to acknowledge that you were the victim but REFUSE to own being the victim – get the subtle difference between the past and present tense there? – THAT IS WHAT GIVES US POWER. Power to change the way we think, power to change our circumstances and ultimately power to overcome
- You can be the most successful person in the world, and yet you will still fail from time to time. And that is okay. We all fail, and we need to fail in order to grow as people
- We are stronger than we think, we may get knocked down but we don’t have to stay down because no matter how long it takes it will get better – KNOW That you indeed are unbreakable and you can indeed overcome anything – DON’T EVER FORGET THAT
- Even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself
last lesson!
- Sometimes moments of pain are necessary for us to grow because they teach us to find a cause greater than our pain.
You are all so much more than what happens to you, then your circumstances. But it is up to you to show the world how great you are and will be. Give your pain a purpose!
By Fatema Dewji ~ Director of Marketing at MeTL Group