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Greetings, beloved believer, for I am Saint Michael, the mighty Archangel known for my unwavering loyalty, unmatched strength, and fierce defense of God’s divine will. Throughout the Bible, I am depicted as a valiant warrior, protector of the faithful, and the vanquisher of evil. My name, “Michael,” signifies “Who is like God?” and indeed, it is my eternal duty to ensure that God’s greatness and love are known to all who seek Him.
Dear Believer,
During times of unhappiness and difficulties, always keep this in mind: deep within the challenges, there exists a chance for rebirth and the unearthing of concealed resilience.
You are never alone in your battles; a guiding beacon resides within, awaiting rekindling. Be comforted by the knowledge that obstacles are not hindrances but rather milestones on your spiritual journey. Embrace the hardships as prospects for education and evolution.
In the fiery forge of adversity, you’ll discover untapped strength you never realized you possessed.
Looking at adversity as an opportunity, a stark shift occurs in our perspective of the nature of the trial. No longer is adversity an all-oppressive force that attempts to hinder us from what we desire, but rather a challenge that we are able to overcome. This might seem like a play on words, but the distinction is in reality quite profound. An oppression is something that is often too powerful for us to overcome, and so our only tactic is endurance. A challenge, however, is something that in its nature is possible to defeat. Even in cases where it is an incredibly tough challenge, the knowledge that it can be overcome is a great source of encouragement. If one finds themselves with a chronic health condition, they may see it as a barrier that stops them from living the life they desire. This view can lead to a feeling of helplessness and depression. If they shift their perspective and see their health condition as a challenge, each barrier that it presents will be an opportunity to improve their situation. Each small victory towards regaining their health is a step towards overcoming the challenge and a reason to celebrate.
Even though tough times may seem overwhelming, one can reduce their impact by embracing them and seeking the positive aspects they bring. By viewing adversity as a chance for personal development, individuals distance themselves from a mindset of victimhood and instead see life as a continuous journey, complete with obstacles. In times of smooth sailing and success, it is easy to become complacent and overlook the multitude of blessings in our lives. However, it is only through facing trials that we truly recognize and value what we have, as well as the resilience within ourselves. Such challenges serve as a reflection, revealing our weaknesses and offering an opportunity to strengthen those areas and emerge as a more resilient individual. This growth can only occur when we confront genuine challenges to our current state of being.
This daily exercise is very useful for developing perspective. When things go wrong, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and wonder if things will ever get better. By having an established course and an awareness of the big picture, it’s easier to tackle problems with the mentality that although things are bad now, in the grand scope of my life, this is just an obstacle. Oftentimes, a perceived failure may lead one to abandon a goal entirely when instead he should remember that the end goal is still attainable and the failure was merely a setback. A strong perspective can keep challenges in the proper context and stop them from having a lasting effect on self-esteem or on the pursuit of a goal.
This is how Edwin Locke described the need to set a direction for the kind of person you want to be. He also describes an exercise that should be done at the end of each day. Take a moment to sit down and reflect on the day’s actions and think about whether or not they are moving you in the direction you want to go. He lists six questions that should be answered each day:
“How do you get perspective? Think for a moment about a world-class photographer. When he sets out to take a photo, he has to choose what the photo will be of. He has to choose the lighting, the distance, and the angle. He has to be constantly aware of what the photo will look like. At the same time, he has to be aware of everything that is outside the frame. It’s like that with life. We have to be aware of the past and future, our role in the world, and other people.”
So how can one find the glimmers of hope in life’s darkest moments? Psychological studies suggest that the main factor determining an individual’s potential to grow after experiencing stress, and to use challenging situations as a stepping stone towards better psychological well-being, is inner strength. Inner strength can be broadly defined as the ability to recover from tough experiences or overcome adversity. It is not an uncommon attribute possessed exclusively by a chosen few who are naturally inclined to persevere. Inner strength is actually widespread and encompasses behaviors, thoughts, and actions that can be acquired and cultivated by anyone.
Some researchers in positive psychology believe the capacity for resilience emerges from an interaction of personal qualities and the environment, a process they call ‘steeling’ or ‘toughening’ a person to become less vulnerable. A few factors they consider to have a ‘steeling’ effect include early exposure to a balanced amount of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ stress, having a role model who demonstrates positive coping and an optimistic explanatory style; this is how persons explain to themselves why they have experienced a particular event. For example, optimists use external factors to explain failure, while pessimists use internal factors and can be more self-damning. Although these factors may influence resilience, it is not predetermined by nature or nurture. One can learn to bolster resilience at any stage of life and it is the ongoing self-growth and development that is a key part of its essence. At its core, resilience promotes enhanced well-being and a re-integration of the self that was challenged by the adversity, albeit in a slightly changed form. By developing resilience, one can find a deeper sense of self-knowledge and personal strength. There are numerous ways to develop resilience, far more than could be contained in this book. They can be summarized by the following attributes: cultivating the belief that you are in control of your own destiny and can influence events and feelings by your own actions, knowing your own strengths and nurturing self-esteem, being realistically optimistic, solving problems instead of avoiding them, and maintaining a hopeful outlook on life. The forthcoming sections use Ovid’s struggle with the adversity he faced as an exile, as an allegory for how to implement those attributes in a time of personal crisis or great change. Ovid is used not only because his is a great example of a man who faced extreme adversity, but because it is his resilience as chronicled in his Tristia, that led him to find a greater sense of personal and poetic power. Ovid’s journey is more one of renewal than the restoration of a previous state and it is the same with those who are trying to overcome adversity.
To some people, building a strong support system may not be easy, especially if they’ve isolated themselves or relocated, or maybe they’re simply too used to trying to solve things themselves. You should start by reaching out, spending time with people you enjoy being around, who are good listeners and who are reliable. These may not necessarily be the people who you already consider your closest friends, but these are key traits you should look for in people who you want for support. Open up to them and do not be afraid to ask for their guidance or opinions when you are facing difficulties. Over time, you’ll find that people you are comfortable with will turn into close friends. With these people, you will want to maintain regular contact. A great way to do this is inviting them to activities that you find enjoyable. This way, you will be maintaining good spirit and enjoying good times with your friends. A strong support group will form a safety net for you in times of difficulty and will greatly help in any of your pursuits.
When things go wrong, one of the main mistakes people make is to internalize all the problems and start reflecting inwardly, trying to solve everything themselves. What they don’t realize is that there are often people around them who care about them and can offer support and help in whatever they’re facing. By internalizing problems, you’re shouldering an unnecessary amount of burden and likely isolating yourself at a time when you need others the most. While it may be hard to share the problems you’re facing, opening up to others reveals that people often relate to what you are going through and people who care about you will want to support you.
It is crucial for everyone to have the support of others around them. When facing adversity, having a strong support system can make all the difference in one’s perspective and outlook on life. In the darkest times of adversity, it can be hard for one to remain positive. It is during these times that one must look towards friends, family, and other social outlets for encouragement. Support can act as a cushion to the fall of the adversity and help one to get back on their feet. By providing outside perspectives and advice, a strong support system can help individuals to learn and grow from adverse situations, rather than becoming bitter and negative. People with and through adversity to have the chance to support and comfort one another. The shared experience of tough times can help provide empathy and understanding from others who have gone through similar situations. This feeling of empathy can often be more comforting than sympathy, as it comes from a real understanding of the situation and emotions. Through support of others, an individual can find guidance and strength to overcome adversity and become a stronger person.
During challenging times, it can be quite challenging to deal with our innermost thoughts and sentiments. In the midst of our most difficult moments, it can feel nearly insurmountable to grasp the concept of seeking solace and assistance from another individual. The notion of burdening someone else with our anguish often acts as a hindrance that deters us from seeking aid. Usually, this sentiment arises from a sense of pride or the fear of being rejected, but it is crucial to recognize that seeking help from others is an indispensable stride towards conquering adversity. Encouragement and assistance play a pivotal role in rebuilding self-assurance, cultivating a positive outlook, and making significant progress. Whether it stems from companions, loved ones, a community of faith, or support networks, sharing the company of others and being aware of someone’s genuine concern can provide immense solace.
These methods of support bring a sense of accountability and responsibility to keep striving in a positive direction and often provide wisdom and guidance that may point you in a positive direction. Although the most common preference for immediate support is turning to family and friends, some may also find that confiding in a counselor or therapist can be beneficial. Coming from a neutral standpoint, counselors offer professional support that can assist in making rational decisions and help to understand and change certain behaviors or emotions.
The actions of a positive influence vary greatly depending on the person, but the results can be far more poignant than any negative influence can have. You will receive compliments about your strength and courage, you may become involved in a project to help others who have shared similar experiences. These people will treat those who are an inspiration to them as a priority. This kind of treatment can rouse an immense sense of responsibility or self-worth that was previously thought not to exist in that person’s mindset and thus possibly further cultivate and maintain stronger strengths.
But in the end, it is inevitable that somebody somewhere will think of you as an inspiration. It could be a friend, a neighbor, a sibling, a child, even a random stranger. They will have seen or heard of how you have dealt with and overcome your struggles and have then sought to relate that to their own successes or failures. When that person or people are negative influences, then it can make staying focused on maintaining your own personal strengths an uphill struggle.
You don’t choose to become an inspiration, it is simply thrust upon you. The difference is how you deal with it. Most people will claim that it’s a great honor and that they are truly humbled by that assertion, but more often than not, that statement is simply a shield to protect their own damaged self-worth. A person with a true and positive self-image would not put themselves on a pedestal for any reason. They are completely comfortable with whom and what they are, and they don’t need other people to see them in a certain light. They are happy enough seeing themselves through their own eyes.
John has a type of muscle condition and frequently relies on assistive devices to move around as walking is quite tiring and taxing on his muscles. While in public, he often receives assistance from strangers, but he struggles with accepting it. He feels guilty about inconveniencing others and would rather avoid going out altogether than depend on someone else. A mutual acquaintance introduces him to a woman named Sue who also has the same muscle condition. Sue actively engages with the disabled community and has long advocated for the benefits of collective experiences among those with chronic illnesses. As John listens to Sue sharing her own experiences and connecting with others facing similar challenges, his perspective on accepting help begins to shift. He realizes that by refusing assistance, he denies others the joy that accompanies aiding someone in need. He also starts recognizing the value of shared experiences among individuals facing similar circumstances. They can exchange coping strategies, offer understanding and empathy because they have undergone similar struggles themselves. John now understands that finding strength in a supportive community can boost his self-esteem while reducing his feelings of isolation.
It is easy to get lost in the “why me’s” and “it’s not fair’s” when confronted with the adversity of chronic illness. We don’t understand why our bodies have failed us, and we often feel cheated out of the life we think we deserve. As a result, it’s not uncommon to keep our illness to ourselves rather than spread the news to friends and family. However, our unwillingness to “burden” others with our problems may hinder our ability to increase self-understanding and successfully integrate the experience of chronic illness into our life. Perceived isolation may lead to a greater sense of hopelessness and helplessness. Careful introspection will likely reveal times in the past when we have played the role of the “helper” to a friend or loved one in need. At these times we felt useful and valued. Everyone has something to give, even those who are chronically ill, and allowing others to help us can be a gift to them. By seeing how our acceptance of help can benefit others, it may become clear that forming a helping “community” is mutually beneficial to all parties involved.
It may be that the initial attempts at nurturing are met with discomfort or irritation. For example, a cleanliness enthusiast who decides to adopt a homeless animal in an effort to become more compassionate might find herself upset by the mess the animal makes. While discomfort may be inevitable, avoiding distress is a key to success. Choosing goals that are achievable and manageable will facilitate the efficacy of nurturing. With time, nurturing will be greatly facilitated by integration of virtues into one’s identity. Becoming a compassionate person in the long term takes being compassionate in the short term. At some point, the kind behaviors that are nurtured intentionally will simply become automatic and an integral part of who one is.
Mentioning specific pathways will enable you to decide which seem most useful or appropriate for the strengths you are trying to foster. While systematic use will draw best results, each is a tool some of which will fit more comfortably with you. Remember that different pathways can be utilized for different inner strengths. For example, mindfulness meditation might best serve to cultivate open-mindedness, while savoring could be effective in building perseverance or creativity.
To further the growth of our inner strengths, we can actively nurture our psychological and personality resources. Drawing upon empirical evidence, positive psychology outlines a number of pathways to nurturing, each tied to different elements of inner strengths. Demonstrates ways of achieving functionality, development of the self, and facilitation of a satisfying life.
Prioritize your own well-being. Engaging in acts of self-compassion and self-preservation are the fundamental requirements for establishing a solid inner foundation, discovering stability within yourself, and establishing a connection with your capacity to bounce back. When faced with the demands of a hectic and stressful profession that consumes all of your cognitive and emotional resources, it is surprisingly simple to overlook your own needs and undervalue your own significance. In reality, you might have never even considered extending compassion towards yourself, and it is plausible that you view it as a vulnerability. Nevertheless, acknowledging your own emotional suffering and actively taking steps to soothe and alleviate it is an influential approach to enhancing your emotional strength and resilience. Instead of discounting your feelings or excessively criticizing yourself, it is crucial to treat yourself with kindness, care, and comprehension when you encounter distress, failure, or feelings of inadequacy. This initial action sets the groundwork for cultivating resilience.
It has been extensively confirmed through practical investigations that self-mercy is an essential element for emotional wellness. In contrast to a cliché, sappy, or self-centered form of self-affection, self-mercy entails treating yourself with equal kindness during challenging moments, setbacks, or upon recognizing personal flaws. Rather than solely disregarding your suffering with a resolute mindset, you pause to internally express, “This current situation is genuinely arduous. How can I provide solace and nurture myself in this present instance?”
A broad-minded perspective opposes a inflexible perspective, which assumes that our personality, intellect, and creative ability are unalterable aspects that we cannot significantly modify. It is the belief that we have control over our own capabilities and can gain knowledge and enhance them. This concept is particularly relevant, as stated by Dweck: “In the inflexible perspective, everything revolves around the outcome. If you fail—or if you’re not the best—it’s all been wasted. The broad-minded perspective allows people to value what they’re doing regardless of the result.” This is important to keep in mind during the recovery process; individuals with an inflexible mindset are prone to becoming disappointed and questioning the purpose of their efforts if visible progress is not immediate.
The strength of the future carries a crucial message for patients who might be feeling disheartened. By transforming the final phrase “I cannot do this” into “I cannot do this at the moment,” an uplifting source of motivation emerges, reminding us that progress takes time. Encourage individuals to consistently challenge themselves, despite any fear of potential failure. See setbacks as opportunities to grow and a chance to reassess different approaches to achieve a desired result. As a result, this will restore determination, a trait often lost during tough times. Just when one might consider giving up, it reinforces the belief that continuous improvement is always possible.
Gratitude is a way of life. It’s a virtue and an emotion at the same time. For a part of speech, there is a whole lot of meaning to the word. In attempting to revamp and reignite our lives from the inside out, we must learn to embrace gratitude in a variety of ways. I say reignite because there was indeed a time when we were all children where curiosity, thanks, and love were the driving forces in our lives. Somewhere along the track of life, external influences potentially changed us for the worst. Hard times can often shut off gratitude altogether. When times are tough, the toughest people give thanks. The subject matter of gratitude has been so forthright and prevalent in so many self-help and psychological books/essays because gratitude is one of the keys to life. It is a simple truth that giving thanks can change a person’s attitude and demeanor for the better. Time, love, and care need to be invested by anyone willing, in order to revamp their lives into lives of thankfulness. Practice makes perfect.
The word gratitude comes from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness depending on the context. In a psychological context, graciousness has been said to be a way of experiencing the gratitude attitude. The truth is, we really can experience and incorporate gratitude by being gracious. Any functioning human can be gracious and thankful, but at what level are we incorporating gratitude as a habitual state of mind, or better yet, a lifestyle? In the very worst of times, when a person is down in the dumps, can they be thankful? Can a man dying of cancer radiate thanks? Some can and have been cited for doing so. Others, although not as extreme, can still be going through tough times and still lead a life full of thanks.
Reflect deeply and contemplate upon these wise and profound words from the ancient writings of Isaiah, chapter 40, verse 31: “Nevertheless, for those who put their trust, unwavering hope, and firm belief in the Higher Power, their strength shall be renewed and reenergized. They shall effortlessly soar with the majestic grace and liberty of powerful birds, effortlessly ascending to great heights. Weariness will not conquer them as they move forward with boundless energy, and fatigue will not overpower them as they journey through life’s path. Their spirits will forever remain resolute and unconquerable.” Allow the reverberation of these sacred sentences to spark within you a deep sense of confidence, reminding you that even in challenging times, optimism and conviction possess an unmatched and enduring strength.
Heavenly Father,
In your timeless knowledge and boundless affection, I humbly request you to gift me with limitless bravery and unyielding tenacity in the face of challenges. Provide me with the skill to maneuver through life’s intricate maze of difficulties with elegance and unwavering determination. As I strive to conquer these hurdles, I implore you to revitalize my soul and restore my internal power. With each passing day, may your divine guidance brighten my path, directing me towards a more promising future. May you shower me with the celestial insight required to extract significance from my battles, transforming them into valuable life teachings. Grant me the strength to emerge from these tribulations, not shattered, but fortified with newfound wisdom and unconquerable resolve.
In your holy name, I offer this humble prayer. Amen.
Jesus has prepared something extraordinary for those ready to take the next step in faith and abundance. With this gift, you’ll discover renewed hope, prosperity, and the strength to overcome life’s greatest challenges.