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Gird your Mind with the Power to Overcome Challenges

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Everyone is Fighting Some Kind of Battle

Time and again, over your and my lifetime,... we must come "face to face" with a conscious decision about how we will react to "great challenges" in our lives! The fact... that these "challenges" will occur and disrupt our well being is, for the overwhelming majority of us,... inevitable! Regardless of whether those "challenges" occur because of physical or mental illness, tragedy, death, troubled relationships, stupidity, bad luck or even on "the flip side"...positive challenges like great success... They are part of our reality... and , in response to those "peaks and valleys", we need to arm ourselves with the wisdom of a series of fundamental, yet universal, truths which have stood the test of time! No one can hide very long from the truth... so let's tackle first what, to some, may be the most difficult truth of all to recognize!
The 1st Universal Truth:

By Default...or By Design...each of us alone...are the final Architects responsible for giving our brain the ultimate instructions about how we will respond to all challenges or crisis! So the Buck stops here!

With that in mind...won't you come along with me and let's walk through this valley together...and share a journey that I hope will inspire you, empower you and give you the opportunity to recognize and revisit that first truth ...along with others that just could lend their power to you in your time of greatest need!

The 2nd Universal Truth

Often when we look in retrospect at our reactions to great challenges, the correct response may appear obvious, but therein lies one of the great ironies of life! As some of us prepare our response to great challenges... the words we want to say and what we know is right...suddenly become difficult to remember... That valley seems longer... and more lonesome when Fear, doubt, physical or mental insecurity, or any number of valid/invalid reasons cause us to struggle ... and delay coming forth with what we know is right! It's in there...I know it's in there...you know it's there, but the more it stalls in some "deep recess" of our mind, the more reactive we become. It matters not whether the reason is valid/invalid... what matters is that when we choose to react with a less than proactive response, we delay or, even worse, kill any desirable resolution to the challenge. The challenge, at that point then, continues to be a problem and, more often than not, magnifies... and grows to be a much larger problem!

If you can identify with this dilemma... and lived through it...then you, my friend, are familiar with The 2nd Universal Truth... What is it? It is simply that Things are almost never near as bad... or near as good as they first appear! You are not the first person to experience great challenges and you will not be the last! There is no such thing as "The Rest of the World... Vs... You!" ...and you are not alone or isolated in this struggle all by yourself! -- Now...you may feel that way or design it that way, but in truth, "No man (or woman) is an Island!" You don't h ave to walk that lonesome valley by yourself.

Many have been there before us to "face the same music" and experienced the same angst, indecision and fear that can lead to retreat, defeat and a less than acceptable response! When you find yourself balking at what's right... remember...There is nothing new under the sun... and, Thankfully,... there is hope, there is help and there is good news!

I believe that reviewing those stories of inspired and determined men and women acting positively in the face of crisis... can inspire and empower us... and help us to embrace the power to choose our own proactive solution in our time of greatest need!

The 3rd Universal Truth

We will save the contrasting challenges that success brings to us for another lens. Let's examine the frog in the picture above and address here the problems arising from challenges brought about by crisis such as he is experiencing.

The best news is... that we can draw upon many examples that inspire us and can arm ourselves with the thrilling knowledge of The 3rd Universal Truth...

It's perhaps the most important one because once we fully buy into it...the battle shifts in our favor and we conquer that nemesis which is generally considered to be our greatest enemy... Ourselves! It goes like this: If we are still "above ground", reading this now and facing any dilemma created by "great challenges" in our lives...the final score has not yet been posted... therefore we have here and now the POWER to CHOOSE... the game plan... and score the winning points before the final horn signals that the game is over! The only way you can lose this game... is to give up and quit! Remember...It's never too late to choose and act upon the right response.! History tells us, time and again, that many great crisis/challenges have been resolved... at the last minute... and in the darkest hour...and/or as a splendid epiphany!

So... Yes...we can... (and we must!)... harness, embrace and cultivate the almighty power to choose our own destiny! That must begin here and now with a conscious decision to "gird" our minds with courage, strength, commitment and determination and to act positively... with a "planned" response, but above all else... with a response that vows................... to never, ever give up... and never, ever give in!

Dr. Viktor Frankl, mentioned below, validates this universal truth with a statement from his amazing and empowering book, Man's Search for Meaning, "We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that:

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances - to choose one's own way!"

The 4th Universal Truth

To conquer and parry the double-edged sword that a crisis will thrust at us... we must understand and make integral to our response... The 4th Universal Truth.

To do that requires that we understand the difference between the terms PROACTIVE Vs REACTIVE!

Most of us are taught how we respond to the traumatic stress of great challenges from the example set by the significant leaders in our life... our parents, teachers, coaches, pastors, etc.... When that example is reactive, those leaders respond directly to what happens to them, rather than deciding in advance how they want to behave. That does not stand up as an excuse for us to do things the same way! If we are to make a difference in this world... and if we are to be remembered as being a part of the solution... and not a part of the problem... then...We must recognize and counter our urges to be reactive... and instead, train ourselves to respond to our world proactively!

What does pro-active really mean? From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Ironically, the 1946 book Man's Search for Meaning brought the word "Proactive" to the wider public domain.

The author, Austrian existential neuropsychiatrist Dr. Viktor Emil Frankl, used the word PROACTIVE to describe a person who took responsibility for his or her life, rather than looking for causes in outside circumstances or other people.

Frankl stressed the importance of strengthening the foundations of character: courage, perseverance, individual responsibility and awareness of the existence of choices, regardless of the situation or context! Much of this theory was formed in Nazi concentration camps where Frankl lost his wife, mother, father and family, but, still he decided that even under those worst circumstances, people can make and find meaning.

Let's confirm this then as The 4th Universal Truth... tempered and proven in the horror of a concentration camp:

We must approach all forms of crisis and challenge ... and life itself... armed with a PROACTIVE mindset!

Success Lies Behind Challenges

I have saved this editorial by John Ginn for over 20 years.

At the time he wrote it, he was the editor and publisher of the Anderson Independent Newspaper in Anderson, SC. His editorials were always quality reads like this one, and I later learned he had been diagnosed with lung cancer prior to writing this. John was one of those who paved the way for the rest of us and whose example we would hope to emulate. More about him here: John Ginn He writes:

"Our lives are made richer when bad stuff happens. Tough challenges can help us be more effective. And they help sweeten the joys of life.

Wise men have been urging this message on us for centuries. and there are many examples proving their correctness. But when heavy challenges seem to be coming at you from all sides, it's tough to convince yourself that all that bad stuff really is enriching your life. Several business and personal challenges have come my way in recent weeks, and I've found it useful to remind myself that these challenges can enrich my life.

It has helped me, for instance, to recall the story of the fourth grade boy whose teacher sent him home from school with a note telling his mother he was "incapable of learning." He couldn't concentrate. He couldn't read well. And he couldn't keep up with his classmates. Clearly this was a challenge, both for the boy and his mother. There was no other school available, so the mother decided to try to teach him herself. She was a farmer's wife with no training as a teacher, and her early efforts were frustrating for both of them. But they kept trying, every day for two years.

Somewhere in that process his young intellect got turned on. His imagination was ignited. And his confidence and determination blossomed. That stint with his mother was the last formal training he ever received. But it got the job done. He went on to have more physical impact on your life and mine than any other individual. Thomas Alva Edison, the boy "incapable of learning," was awarded 1,137 patents__more than anyone before or since. Clearly his life was enriched by a major challenge.

Wilma Rudolph- What an Example!

Another of my favorites is the story of Wilma Rudolph. She had tough challenges starting with the instant she arrived in this world. She showed up four months premature. Her parents lived in a shack in the backwoods of Tennessee. Wilma wasn't expected to survive infancy...but she did. When she was four she had double pneumonia and scarlet fever. Most folks don't survive that combination, but she did. However, it left her with a paralyzed and useless left leg. The doctor told her she would have to wear an iron brace for the rest of her life.

What the doctor didn't count on was Wilma's mama. Mama told Wilma she could do whatever she wanted to if she tried hard enough and long enough. Happily, Wilma believed mama, not the doctor. At age 9, Wilma quit using the brace and spent the next four years learning to walk without a limp. When she was 13, she got this crazy idea about entering a race at her high school. She came in last--so far behind the others that folks were embarrassed.

They begged her never to do that again. but Wilma entered every race they had...And she came in last every time. After many races, one day she came in next to last. And after many more, the day came when she won a race. And from then on, she won every race she ran, including three for which she won Olympic Gold Medals. So it has also been useful for me to remind myself of Wilma and her mother and how they enriched their lives by dealing with some really tough challenges.

The Exhilarating Reward!

I've also found it useful to reread a statement I've had posted in my office for several years . It says: "Be thankful for the troubles of your job. They provide about half your income. Because if it were not for the things that go wrong, the difficult people you have to deal with and the problems and unpleasantness of your working day, someone could be found to handle your job for half of what your are being paid.
It takes intelligence, resourcefulness, patience, tact and courage to meet the troubles of any job. That is why you hold your present job. And it may be the reason you aren't holding an even bigger one. If all of us would start to look for more troubles and learn to handle them cheerfully and with good judgment as opportunities rather than irritations, we would find ourselves getting ahead at a surprising rate. For it is a fact that there are plenty of big jobs waiting for men and women who aren't afraid of the troubles connected with them."

Finally, I find it useful to recall a letter Dr. Norman Vincent Peale tells about receiving from his son after the younger Peale had run his first marathon at age 44. The letter said: "I made the marathon -- the full 26.2 miles in Richmond on October 26 -- running steadily but not fast for about four hours and 15 minutes. Three thousand entered the race. One thousand finished. I was number 600 among those who finished. Needless to say , my feet hurt, my legs ached, my stomach was empty, my energy was gone and my mind was mush. Yet I felt this exhilaration that was powerful and hard to describe. I wouldn't have missed it for anything!" The senior Peale used this statement from his son to make this point.
"You see, you're never going to have exhilaration in this life unless you have struggle and difficulty -- unless you pit yourself against something that is very, very hard." So if some very, very hard stuff has come your way recently, I hope these reminders help you keep in mind that struggles are the prelude for life's sweetest exhilaration. Mulling these reminders with you has been a good reminder of that for me."

PROACTIVE People Are All Around You...

Seek Them Out... Learn from Them and Thank Them for Paving the Way!

Examples of proactive people are all around us, but like anything worth having... you may not recognize them without spending the time it takes to look under their surface impression.

The picture above is of my 88 year old mother exchanging some unconditional love with my granddaughter Emily Sitton (1&1/2). My mother had scarlet fever when she was a young girl and almost died. In the darkest hour, my Grandfather promised God, that if he would let her live... he would dedicate the remainder of his life to him. She lived, as you can see, and my Grandfather, Dr. J.H. Carter, changed his career in midstream from being the editor of a newspaper to become a loved and influential minister throughout the presbytery of the southeast. My Grandparents (on both sides) and My mother (and father) have been the finest example to me of proactive, unconditional love for me and my family that I could ever hope to know! Throughout my life that's been God's wonderful gift to me...and a King's ransom or no amount of money can buy it! I know and am grateful for the fact that I was born to that blessing and that, in contrast to that, there are many who must search outside of their family to find that leadership.

We are fortunate right here in the Squidoo community to have many lensmasters who have shared their life challenges on their lenses. You may or may not know their story... but I hope you will make it a point to! I have made a featured lens and a Plexo-Module of the Inspiring lenses I have read below the comments module of this lens and I hope you will visit them and vote for your favorite in the Plexo-Module (click the blue link for an explanation). Whether it be their road to addiction recovery, a tragic accident, a disability or disorder, an illness, an abusive relationship, etc., they inspire us and empower us with the knowledge that they have pro-actively met their challenge head on... and they will not allow it be the master of their lives! My thanks go out to all share and provide a proactive example for us all... of how to live in response to great challenges.

Let Your Light Shine!

What do you think of yourself? You are awesome!... No really... you are! You may or may not be the most handsome or beautiful person on the outside, but when the light switch clicks on and you reveal your light from the inside out...it shines through like a spotlight and outshines all surface imperfections. Think of this... when light shines from the outside to inside... it is confined to your own body space... but when it shines from inside to out... it radiates to all those around you!

Let it shine... because it's in there... and only you have the power to choose on who you let your light shine! Watch the video in the link below... and receive all the validation you need to... Let your light shine on us all!

Validation-Let Your Light Shine!: Click the link above to receive your validation!

This Book is a Treasure of Strength and Inspiration

Click on the buy link below to buy this book on Amazon Here!

Dr. Viktor Emil Frankl chronicles his experiences as a concentration camp inmate and describes his psychotherapeutic method of finding a reason to live.
According to a survey conducted by the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Library of Congress, "Man's Search For Meaning" belongs to a list of "the ten most influential books in [the United States]." At the time of the author's death in 1997, the book had sold 10 million copies in twenty-four languages.

Man's Search for Meaning

by: Viktor E. Frankl

Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 02/16/2012)
List Price: $13.00
Used Price: $4.93

"Man's Search For Meaning" belongs to a list of "the ten most influential books in [the United States]." At the time of the author's death in 1997, the book had sold 10 million copies in twenty-four languages.

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Important!

The Most Important Word

PROACTIVE_ Austrian Holocaust survivor...Dr. Viktor Emil Frankl, used the word PROACTIVE to describe a person who took responsibility for his or her life, rather than looking for causes in outside circumstances or other people.

Your Response to Crisis/Success

How do you respond to great Crisis/Success

Fetching blurbs now... please stand by

Are you innately strong and determined?

Michelle1959 says:

At times I feel others overdo their opinions of my innate abilities which can form a pressure of it's own. I really do though, thank God Above for what He's given me & those in my life. Without immense difficulties, I have to wonder if I'd have manifested them? They do come for the fore - for others probably more than myself. I've been an ardent Dr Frankl fan for most of my life and he's right! Success IMHO is merely the final result of a deeper encounter with life, so I do understate that in my own life. Determined? It's the golden key!

Posted April 16, 2011

Charlystoybox says:

Beautiful Hub! Whenever I think of dfficult situations I think of Job. You dont give up your faith despite your circumstances. When we face difficulties we can wallow in it or get on with it... but never lose faith. You have inspired me today!

Posted October 30, 2010

John_Michael says:

persistance is the best way to a goal.

Posted October 04, 2010

mukunda22 says:

I am determined but when I falter, I get right back up again!!

Posted September 21, 2010

Vladi says:

My inner strength is legendary

Posted July 07, 2010

Is your response learned from significant leaders in your life?

moonlitta says:

I welcome every chance to grow and learn.

Posted November 22, 2010

24websurf says:

I am still learning that I have strength from within.

Posted December 11, 2009

aj2008 says:

I am not as innately strong and determined as I would like to be, so I turn to those who are - my husband has the most amazing inner strength because he is very comfortable "in his own skin". I learn a lot from him.

Posted July 16, 2009

papawu says:

A wise man once told me that everyone falls from time to time, but it is the measure of a man or woman how long it takes them to get back up.

Posted June 16, 2009

Cindy_Lee says:

I definately look to people I admire to get me through life's struggles. I say to myself, "if they can do that, I can do this."

Posted June 08, 2009

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Zut_Moon Feb 16, 2012 @ 1:16 am | delete

Well I must say for the most part I agree with what you have said here. Another elegant Squidoo lens. Why you haven't gone beyond 2 lenses in 3 years is beyond my ability to understand. You are missing out on a wondeful opportunity.

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Michey Dec 24, 2011 @ 4:57 pm | delete

Hi! John, Warmest wishes for a Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year
Michey

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sittonbull Dec 25, 2011 @ 10:45 pm | delete

Thank you Michey and I hope you and Mama had a warm and wonderful Christmas also and that your New Year will be spectacular!

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KimGiancaterino Dec 8, 2011 @ 12:15 pm | delete

This lens is just what I needed this week. When things get tough I think of the song, "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep" from the movie "White Christmas." The photo of your mother and granddaughter is precious. My father almost died of scarlet fever too when he was very young. He still has nightmares about it.

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sittonbull Dec 8, 2011 @ 2:52 pm | delete

Thanks Kim. It's a blessing indeed to enjoy a visit and comment from you. Merry Christmas!

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Moore Nov 14, 2011 @ 11:03 pm | delete

I definitely look to people I admire to get me through life's struggles. I say to myself, "if they can do that, I can do this." LOVE it :) Extreme self confidence.

Just in case your readers might also be interested in dating feel free to visit our site.

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sittonbull Nov 16, 2011 @ 11:48 am | delete

Thanks for the comment... you're not on Squidoo as I couldn't bring up your profile.
I'm not interested in advertising a dating site.

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lpyrbby Jun 30, 2011 @ 12:20 pm | delete

Fantastic lens! Good job!

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Michelle1959 Apr 16, 2011 @ 8:31 am | delete

What a brilliant read John! so logical - yet so many are so engrossed in living they need to stop by a lens like this. It's all about choices we make and the spirit in which we make them and further manifest them - really great and thanks a lot for sharing!

Reply

Spook Mar 10, 2011 @ 4:43 pm | delete

John I'm so glad I met you and this is such a wonderful inspirational lens and a must read.
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The lenses listed below are a compilation of inspirational stories from the squidoo community that either inspired me enough to share with you or were submitted at my request by various lensmasters...like I'm asking you to do here! These lenses don't all describe a crisis these lensmasters went through, but they do all reflect the tempered experience and outlook gained as they passed through the flame of their own life challenges. Please visit the lenses below, rate them, thank them for their story in their comment module or Duals and vote below for your favorites in this list by pointing your cursor at the arrow between the lens# and the lens description and clicking. As they are listed now, they are in no particular order, but your votes over time will rearrange their order. If you are visiting and have an inspirational lens please add the URL for it to the plexo of stories below. Enjoy... and share your joy!

Gird your Mind with the Power to Overcome Challenges

Everyone is Fighting Some Kind of Battle

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

The 2nd Universal Truth

The 3rd Universal Truth

The 4th Universal Truth

Success Lies Behind Challenges

I have saved this editorial by John Ginn for over 20 years.

Wilma Rudolph- What an Example!

The Exhilarating Reward!

PROACTIVE People Are All Around You...

Seek Them Out... Learn from Them and Thank Them for Paving the Way!

Let Your Light Shine!

This Book is a Treasure of Strength and Inspiration

Click on the buy link below to buy this book on Amazon Here!

The Most Important Word

Your Response to Crisis/Success

How do you respond to great Crisis/Success

Are you innately strong and determined?

Michelle1959 says:

Charlystoybox says:

John_Michael says:

mukunda22 says:

Vladi says:

Is your response learned from significant leaders in your life?

moonlitta says:

24websurf says:

aj2008 says:

papawu says:

Cindy_Lee says:

I Hope You Enjoyed Your Visit ...

I Enjoyed Your Being Here!

Please write in the guestbook and share your comments!

Thank you again for your time and your interaction here!

Other Lenses That Empower us with Inspiration

Can you use some Inspiration? Check out the works of these Lensmasters!

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