Live Your Very Best Life Despite the Challenges You May Face
Rev. Dr. Kitty Boitnott, NBCT
Heart-Centered Career Transition & Job Search Coach | Stress Management Coach
“Victory at all costs, victory despite all terror. Victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without
victory, there is no survival.” ~ Winston Churchill
You may be going through a terrible time right now that you think no one else could understand. You may feel trapped like there is no way out of your current circumstance.
I want to tell you that you have what it takes to defeat just about any challenge, however. You can--and you deserve--to live your very best life no matter what else may be going on.
Perhaps you can take some comfort in knowing that everyone faces challenges in their lives. No one lives a charmed life where they are immune from troubles or heartaches. If you are human, you will experience hardship.
But hardship does not define you or who you can become.
When my mother was 60 years old, she received the devastating diagnosis of terminal colon cancer. The surgeon assessed that the cancer was so widespread, he didn't remove any of it. He looked her over and closed her up.
Of course, we were stunned. No one ever expects to hear news like that. When she went in for the surgery, we expected that he would remove the tumor, and we would go from there.
As we were trying to wrap our heads around this development, her new oncologist came to visit. He painted a dire picture. She would need in-home care. But he promised to manage her pain to keep her "as comfortable as possible."
Imagine our surprise when just a few hours later, he rushed into the room to tell us that her pathology report indicated that our mother didn't have cancer! He didn't know what was going on, but her lab reports were not positive for cancer at all. That meant that whatever the surgeon saw, he was wrong about it being a metastasized cancerous tumor.
Without going into all the twists and turns in her long saga, suffice it to say that ultimately they did find a small cancerous tumor. But what the surgeon had seen was an infection that had been triggered by her immune system, not cancer. Once the infection was under control, he was able to go back and remove the small tumor completely. Between chemotherapy and radiation, my mother recovered her health.
She lived another 26 years. And when she died, it wasn't from cancer.
Before the cancer scare, my mother, who had been grieving the death of my father. He had died in an accident five years before.
She had been furious over his death, and she had become resentful about her life as a "widow." To this day, my sister and I believe her anger was the root cause of her cancer. But after her diagnosis, her anger dissipated. She started to appreciate her life, and she began to look for silver linings in every experience.
The anger and despair she had felt over my father's loss were replaced by an appreciation of the life she had. And I can safely say that I believe she made the best of the remaining years she had.
Life will sometimes hit you hard and make you feel like you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. But no matter how many times you feel yourself break or fall, remember that you always have what it takes to start fresh.
We often don't think we can do the very things we wind up doing.
I wasn't sure how my mother would take her diagnosis, for instance. She had always said that she wouldn't go through chemo if she were ever diagnosed with cancer. She had watched a relative struggle and suffer through cancer treatment only to lose his battle anyway. Much to my surprise--and relief--she decided to do what her oncologist recommended. She decided to make the best of the situation.
Knowing You Deserve to Live Your Very Best Life Gets You A Step Closer To What You Want
The victory you crave is often only a step away. You only "win" when you believe you were meant to be a winner. You have to recognize that you can win.
Being successful in any endeavor is only made certain by your rock-solid faith in yourself. If you entertain the idea that you are not going to be successful, you make it harder to find ways of helping you succeed.
If you listen to others' comments that you don’t deserve what you want, you will have trouble believing in yourself.
Winners are people who exercise their faith even in the face of difficult situations. They know that their triumphs are determined by what goes on inside their heads. It is not dependent on what others think.
When you are a winner, you let your hopes guide you. You remain optimistic in the face of adversities.
You have to expect to win.
The fact that you are facing challenges does not mean you are not meant for something greater. Overcoming problems helps to define who you are. It helps you refocus your efforts. It also helps you prepare and position you for your ultimate breakthrough.
Knowing you deserve to triumph helps you believe in yourself when no one else does. It keeps you working on achieving your goals even when everyone around you thinks you aim too high.
It gives you the confidence you need to take calculated risks when the odds are stacked up against you.
Everything you have been through in your life makes you who you are. All the problems you have ever faced, all the disappointments you have ever encountered, and all the tears you have ever cried are all signs that success is around the corner. Victory is certain if you believe it is possible for you.
You were born to live your very best life. No one is given a free pass, however. Everyone faces challenges, even those that you might think "have it easy."
If you want to live your very best life, you must believe you are worthy, and you must be willing to overcome the challenges that come your way.
Stick to your goals. Get help if you need it. And in more words from Winston Churchill, "This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense."
Until next time.
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