How To Apply 'Endurance' To Thrive Amidst Life's Seasons of Discomfort

Dear Reader,

Everything in physical reality experiences cycles. Like the Earth has seasons, so too does life has seasons. In this edition of my newsletter, I am going to share with you, what I have learned about enduring seasons of discomfort. With these lessons, you will power through your own uncomfortable seasons, and will make progress on what matters to you, while awaiting the arrival of a new season that embodies the prosperity in areas you are seeking.

We'll start here: I am currently facing a season of life that is uncomfortable, but purposeful and necessary. You see, I moved out of my dream apartment last week, and moved into a shared communal space. I downsized my living arrangements, so that I could understand more clearly: 'what are the essentials for my life?'. In this new space, I can see more clearly, about what truly matters to me, and about what truly makes my life enjoyable and fulfilling.

As I awake in my room each day, I can't help but notice the stark contrast between my dream apartment and where I am now. In my current space, it is quiet, peaceful, and dark. It is an ideal space to meditate and facilitate my Spiritual progress. But on the other hand, the walls are thin, I can hear the neighbors' conversations, and the cleanliness is not to my standard. There are tradeoffs that I must make in this season of my life.

This makes me think of the tradeoffs we are always making in our lives: there's always a balance. It's never black or white. It's always a grey area inbetween. Whether it's a balance between busy and quiet, between happy and sad, between good and bad, between right and wrong - life is never the extreme of one or the other, even if it's easy to characterise it that way.

Furthermore, in today's fast-paced, volatile world, finding peace and clarity amidst the noise and chaos can seem like a huge challenge. But amongst all the challenge I am facing, I still know why I chose this living space: I was seeking a quiet place to meditate. You see, ever since I started meditating 6 years ago (to help deal with an angry boss), meditation has transformed my mind. My mental clarity, emotional stability, and inner peace has become the most important aspects of my life.

Like me, you too might value these intangibles. Yet, you might also face the full of things 'shiny' and things that create chaos in your internal being. It is precisely in this context of the volatility of daily human living, that the power of meditation becomes most apparent. By cultivating a consistent practice, we can develop the mental clarity and emotional resilience necessary to not just survive, but truly thrive in our ever-changing environment.

Life Is Ever-Moving and Ever-Changing, So Embrace Life's Seasons & Cycles

If you haven't noticed already, life, much like nature, moves in seasons and cycles. Just as the earth experiences the vibrance of spring, the warmth of summer, the shedding of autumn, and the hibernation of winter, so too do our lives move through various phases. Some seasons bring joy and growth, while others challenge us with discomfort and uncertainty.

It's during these uncomfortable seasons that we often find ourselves questioning our path, our purpose, and our ability to persevere. However, it is precisely in these moments that we have the opportunity for tremendous growth and transformation.

Endurance? What's That?

Endurance is not about gritting our teeth and pushing through pain. Endurance, to me, is the application of the following: persistence, focus, vision, purpose, and action. It's about developing a deep well of inner strength that allows us to remain steady in the face of volatility and challenge.

In a previous edition, I introduced the term 'imperturbability' or 'unable to be shaken'. By using meditation, we can start to cultivate this endurance by training our minds to observe our discomfort without becoming shaken by it.

Start here: try this simple practice when you feel challenged:

1. Sit comfortably and close your eyes. On a chair with knees at 90 degrees and back upright.
2. Bring your attention to your rate of breath.
3. As you inhale, silently say to yourself, "I am eternal."
4. As you exhale, silently say, "This is but a link of an eye compared to my eternal nature."
5. Continue for 5-10 minutes, returning to the breath and the mantra whenever your mind wanders.
6. Then reflect and ask yourself 'does this need my action?'. If yes, take an appropriate action. If no, let go of the desire to control the situation and watch it pass.

This practice helps to rewire our neural pathways, reinforcing our capacity for resilience and endurance. Our brain is 'neuroplastic' which means it is always changing, every second of every day, even at old age. Therefore, train it well.

Consistency is The Key To Persistence & Growth

While endurance helps us weather immediate challenges, persistence is what carries us through extended periods of difficulty. It's a quiet determination that keeps us moving forward, even when progress seems slow or nonexistent. It's easy to persist when you are moving with purpose. Keep reading, I'll address purpose soon.

Persistence in meditation often manifests as consistency - showing up day after day - even when our minds are restless or we don't feel like we're making progress. We meditate not based on how we are feeling, but based on that it's something that we do daily. This same quality, when applied to life's challenges, can help us maintain our course through extended periods of uncertainty or discomfort.

Keep Your Eye on Your Vision: Cultivate Focus

In times of turmoil and volatility, it's easy to lose sight of our goals and become distracted by stresses, worries, and immediate concerns. However, maintaining a clear focus and vision is crucial for navigating the seasons and cycles of life. Like a navigator charting the volatile seas, you must have your map, compass, and rudder always at hand.

Meditation helps sharpen our focus by training our attention. You have probably noticed that the mind jumps from thought to thought every second. You can train it to stay on one point. But this will take your practice in meditation. Trust me, it's worth it. Like a torch whose light shining everywhere is dim, so too when the beam is focused, the light exponentially increases in heat, brightness, and power.

Train your focus similarly. Fix your mind in meditation, on the thing you want to contemplate, and when it wanders, always bring it back. Additionally, practices like visualization can help us maintain a clear vision of our desired future, even when current circumstances seem challenging.

Try this visualization exercise to condition your ideal next season or future:

1. After a brief meditation to calm your mind, imagine yourself thriving in your ideal season/future.
2. Use all your senses – what do you see, hear, feel, smell, and taste in this vision?
3. FEEL the emotions associated with this future state. Feel deeply.
4. Hold this vision for 5-10 minutes, returning to it whenever your mind wanders. Feel, feel, feel. Be convinced that it is true. See it and feel it clearly.

Regular practice of this exercise can help anchor your focus and motivation during difficult times.

Use Purpose As Your Guiding Light

Understanding and connecting with our deeper purpose can provide a powerful anchor during life's storms. What is your purpose? What matters to you? What do you consider a meaningful pursuit in your life? What impact do you want to have? When we're clear about why we're doing what we're doing, it becomes easier to persist through challenges and maintain our course.

Meditation can help us uncover and connect with our purpose by quieting the noise of external expectations and allowing us to listen to our inner wisdom. There is an inner wisdom there. But it will take a quiet inner space (and external space) to hear it clearly. Through regular practice, we can develop a stronger sense of self-awareness and alignment with our core vision and purpose.

Take Action & Turn Your Vision into Reality

While meditation and reflection are crucial, it's equally important to take massive action based on the insights we gain. Action creates momentum, which can carry us through uncomfortable seasons of doubt or difficulty.

Even small, consistent actions can lead to significant change over time. After your meditation practice, try setting an intention for one small action you can take that day to move closer to your goals or to embody the qualities you wish to cultivate. Then take that action! This is the only way to see results.

Use Meditation To Navigating Life's Seasons Smoothly

As we journey through life's various seasons, meditation serves us as a powerful tool for maintaining our mental clarity, emotional stability, and inner peace. By dedicating time each day to our meditation practice, this period of quiet reflection and mindful awareness will sharpen our minds so that we can thrive in volatility.

Regular meditation practice will help:

1. Reduce our stress and anxiety, allowing us to respond more intentionally to challenges.
2. Improve our emotional regulation, helping us to get back to a stable emotional state during turbulent times.
3. Enhance our self-awareness, helping us to recognize and address unhealthy patterns of thought or behavior.
4. Increase our focus and concentration, helping us to stay on track with our goals.
5. Cultivate more compassion and empathy, improving our relationship with ourselves, others, and the world.

Remember, the goal of meditation is not to eliminate life's challenges, but to develop the inner balance and clarity to navigate them with grace and poise.

Take These Next Steps And Thrive

In this uncomfortable season of life that I am in, my lesson to you is one word: endurance. And it took me five days of persistence to come to this realization, that endurance was the key. What helps me endure is the following: persistence, focus, vision, purpose, and action. I trust it will help you too.

As we conclude this exploration of the endurance of life's uncomfortable seasons and the power of meditation, I invite you to take action to deepen your practice and continue your journey of growth:

1. Download my free meditation course and learn a simple yet powerful 5-minute stress-relieving technique. This course will provide you with a solid foundation for developing a consistent meditation practice. [https://subscribepage.io/meditation-course]

2. Book a free 20-minute consultation call with me. Clients choose me to support their transformation in five areas: mental clarity, stress management, authenticity, manifestation, and Spiritual development. If you have questions or need personalized guidance on your journey, I'm here to help. Let's explore how we can work together to support your personal transformation. [https://meetings.hubspot.com/shaun-mahabeer]

3. Tune into my Deep Topics Podcast for thought-provoking conversations and valuable insights on meditation, mindfulness, and personal development. [https://www.youtube.com/@deeptopicspodcast]

4. Subscribe to my YouTube channel to join our community and access a wealth of supportive content. From guided meditations to practical tips for thriving in a volatile world, you'll find resources to support your journey. [https://www.youtube.com/@shaunmahabeer]

As you move forward, remember that each breath is an opportunity to begin anew. This is what helps me stay on track. Awaken to the power inherent in each moment! No matter what season of life you find yourself in, you have the inner resources to not just endure, but to thrive. Trust in your journey, even if you don't understand why, what, or how.

In my current space, where I find that circumstances are not as ideal as my 'perfect' standard, I am reminded that there are still lessons to learn here: about who I am, what I want, and where I am going. For you too, I want to say: stay committed to your path, and know that if you are dissatisfied with where you are, then only you can apply the power to change course.

Use meditation as your transformational practice. With each meditation, know that you're cultivating the mental clarity, emotional stability, and inner peace to thrive in a volatile world.

Wishing you well,

Shaun

P.S. What one small action will you take today to embrace your current season of life? I'd love to hear about it in our next session or in the comments of my latest podcast!