Your 3 Powers to Get You Through Tough Times in Life

Life does bring us a fair share of challenges and obstacles that we are so often totally unprepared for.

The global COVID-19 pandemic is a perfect example of this.

I once heard someone say that life is like a school in which you get an exam but unlike school where you get the practice exam, life doesn’t give you the practice exam, you get the real exam without practice.

Such a great metaphor for life don’t you think?

COVID has been and continues to be a major exam for all of humanity.

When it comes to major life challenges like a pandemic, some people will come out stronger and better than others.

You may think, that it comes down to factors like luck, different circumstances, differences in temperate, emotional intelligence, etc.

Although these do play a part, they dont tell the full story.

I have observed time and time again that people that come out on the other side stronger and often better from challenges have three powers.

Often they are not even aware that they have these, at least on a conscious level.

These powers are already within all of us but are often buried deep as ‘life happens’ but with a little effort & practice, you can bring them to the surface, activate them, and use them.

Here they are:

Power to adapt

Humans by nature are hardwired to adapt to changing environments, seasons, and circumstances.

We have been doing it after all for millions of years.

We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have this power to adapt.

In recent times COVID has forced us to adapt on such a huge and unprecedented scale.

On a personal level, your ability to adapt to change determines a lot of your success in life. There’s a whole concept around this.

This is closely tied up with Evolution and Darwinism.

Even if you dont believe in evolution, the concept has merit.

It’s a well-known fact that ‘adaptors’ thrive and people who dont adapt get left behind in life.

This doesn’t just apply to humans it also applies to animals, insects, and plants. The ones that adapt thrive and live and the ones that dont perish.

For humans its been found that a?fixed mindset ?makes it extremely hard to adapt.

Whereas the opposite — a?growth mindset ?helps immensely to adapt.

Much has been written about the growth mindset in recent years.

Do some research to find out more.

How to activate your power to adapt

• Along with developing a ‘growth mindset’ train your mind to look for solutions & even opportunities in problems. It’s a habit that will change your life. Like any habit, it’s practice, practice, practice!
• Go within and tap into your?portable paradise, ?your essence that you were born with, and gives you inner strength during times of turmoil and challenges.
• Embody the old saying?“ This too shall pass.”?Let it sink into every cell of your being when you’re experiencing tough times. Write it on your hand. If you are ink inclined get a tattoo of it to remind you.

Power to thrive

Much of human existence focuses on survival, that is “I will survive this week”, “I will survive this situation”, “I will survive this condition”, etc.

Compared to not surviving, it’s not a bad way of looking at things.

However, survival mode isn’t as empowering as thrive mode.

Remember survival mode is linked to the primal part of your brain which is always looking for what’s wrong.

So it’s only natural that it puts you in a more negative state of mind and body which isn’t exactly inspiring or empowering.

But if you flip the switch over to thrive mode, you awaken the inner giant that enables you to thrive no matter what.

The late Olivia Newton-John said it best:

“Survivor sounds like someone clinging onto a lifeboat. A thriver’s someone who’s already off the boat and on land.”

What a beautiful and empowering perspective!

It’s a lesson for us all to get off the boat and get on land no matter what challenges face us on land.

Along with Olivia Newton-John, there have been all sorts of individuals who thrived not just survived in the toughest times — Nelson Mandala, Gandi, and Helen Keller just to name a few.

How to activate your power to thrive

• Adopt Olivia Newton’s John’s above quote. Make it part of your philosophy in life and live & breathe it.
• Find people that have faced your challenges or similar and have thrived. This will not only inspire you but make you see that you are not alone.
• Be an alchemist and turn your struggles into triumphs. The true alchemy of life is transmuting sorrow into success. Gary Vee said,?“Adversity is the key to my success.”?He understands this alchemy.

Power to brace

It’s common on aircraft to assume a brace or crash position.

It’s an instruction to “brace for impact” when an aircraft must make an emergency landing on water or land.

In real life, your power to brace is essentially your power to get ready for obstacles coming your way.

You need to anticipate and prepare for what’s coming your way.

Often in life, you don’t get much time to prepare for impact.

Things can occur in a split second.

But, it’s how you react in that second, and long after that which determines so much of how you handle life and also your experience of life.

How to active your power to brace

• Cultivate anticipation. The winners in life are much better prepared. They often see the storm long before it comes as they are great at anticipating change. This change can be technological, societal & more.
• When a plane is about to crash put on an oxygen mask, brace for impact, etc. Airplanes prepare you for worst-case scenarios. What protocols have you put in place for crashes in your life — health crisis, job crisis, economic crisis, etc?
• Develop?mental toughness . You’ll be better equipped for thinking on the spot which is needed when you need to brace for impact. There’s incredible power in mental toughness. Mental toughness is even more important than positive thinking in life at least in this instance.

Final thoughts

Activate?your three powers if you haven’t already done so as they will do wonders for you when you’re facing challenges and tough times in life.

Remember your three powers are:

1. power to adapt
2. power to thrive
3. power to brace

They may be only three powers but are incredibly potent with the potential to change how you cope and deal with tough situations forever.

If you study so-called ‘tough people’ ( the thrivers of life) you’ll find that they have used these powers in one way or another even if they dont realize it.

You can too and should in order to come out as a winner when facing difficulties.

To Creating a Better You,

Sandra