How I Deal With Tough Times

 

First of all, don't get deceived by the title. This is not a "how-to guide" to deal with your problems. I am an ardent believer in the fact that everyone's issues are different, and so are their ways of dealing with them. However, one thing I must mention is that some techniques do exist that may not solve your problems but are incredibly beneficial to distract your mind from the perils of those hard times.

How do I know that? 

Well, you will find some solace in knowing that you are not alone. Apparently, the system we live in makes life so empty and purposeless that we run behind things that hardly make any sense. Consequently, there's no dearth of problems for us. Isn't it obvious? The more useless things you prioritise in your limited life, the more devils you got to fight. 

Even I was doing that until I ended up in a hospital bed and realised that I had not lived my life at all. 

Not that I am chilling out now on a beach with champagne in my hand (I can't do that. I have diabetes). But hey! I am at least doing what I love. 

Also, this running behind useless things is not only my story. I have friends who have gone (and are still going) through the same pain. While some of them fought like warriors and have now made peace with themselves, others are still perplexed about how to deal with the "dark days." 

So, here are a few tips:

1. Embrace the Circumstances

Problems can be solved only when you acknowledge their existence. Closing your eyes to make yourself believe that everything is fine won't take you anywhere. When I was stuck at home all ill and fragile, I had gone bonkers over my circumstances. However, after the initial upheaval, I finally realised that my body does have some limitations, and I can move forward only when I acknowledge this fact. So, the first step to dealing with tough times is to accept the fact that they exist!

2. Set Your Priorities

"The more, the merrier" doesn't count when dealing with your daily life. On the contrary, in this context, the more things you consider essential, the more you will add to your problems. To bring some stability to your life, you must first decide what is important to you: health, family, friends, career, and the like. 

Make a list where you rank them in order according to your immediate requirements and then take the necessary lunge to deal with those which occupy the top-most position. 

For me, it was my family, or to be precise, my father, who single-handedly raised my brother and me. My love for him made me realise how important it was for me to take care of my health. Otherwise, that man would eventually lose his motivation to live. 

So, as you can see, when I positioned my father as my top-most priority, everything, including my health and career, automatically fell into place. So, the ordering looked somewhat like this:

1. Parents
2. Health (technically, this should be ranked as no.1, but my father is my reason to live, so health comes second in my ordering).
3. Career (Wealth)
4. Friends
5. Relatives
6. Social Media or Anonymous people

The ordering mentioned above may differ from person to person. What this point aims to convey is the process through which you should set your priorities. Note that here social media or anonymous people come last. This bottom position must be reserved for them in everyone's ranking. Otherwise, there's a high chance that you may go into depression. 

3. Engage Yourself in What You Consider Important

Once you have set your priorities, make sure to devote every ounce of your existence to the things you prioritize the most. This will give meaning to your existence and motivate you to move forward amidst the onslaught of the tough days. 

Besides that, I will suggest you engage yourself in some creative work. It may be writing, painting, sketching, composing music and so on. The more you create, the more you will find a part of you getting realised in your creation or the object. This will strengthen your sense of self and eventually lead you to love your existence or life. 

It is the love for life that gives the drive to overcome all challenges posed by life. 

4. Expend All Your Energies in What Makes You Focused

Focus is another element that adds to your sense of self. If you are confused about your priorities, there's a chance that you are confused about the purpose of your existence itself. The more confused you are, the more the perils of tough times will overpower you. 

So, find that purpose or telos. It is the telos that will gain your attention and make you focused, and once you are focused, no challenges can stop you from meeting that telos. 

5. Work Until the Goal is Reached

Apart from focus, patience and perseverance are extremely important when battling tough times. While focus drives your attention away from the perils of tough times, patience and perseverance help you to carry on the battle with tough times until the goal is reached. 

Contradiction (here with the tough times) is a part of the process of self-realisation, but it is not the end. The end is your telos; to reach that telos, you need to overcome the contradiction, and for that, you need to persevere until you reach the goal or telos. 

Heart of the Matter

Tough times are just a phase in your self-realisation. They are not the end or final point. So, to win this contradiction with the tough times, focus on your telos, and be patient and perseverant to achieve that telos.