Ways to Embrace Life's Challenges & Build Resilience!

I didn't have a good day.

I missed the train, so I was late for work.

I had to work for 8 hours that day, but I only made one sale.

When I was heading back home, I took the wrong bus, which delayed my travel by 45 minutes.

During the bus and train ride, I had planned to get some work done, but suddenly my computer died.

When I approached my bus station, I couldn't find my bike.

So, I searched for it for 1 hour but couldn't locate it.

As a result, I had to take another bus home and didn't have a bike anymore.

When I arrived at the bus stop near my house, I felt devastated and in need of comfort food.

I ended up buying some sweets and a can of soda.

While walking home, I stopped and realized that I had let my emotions get the best of me!

Everything I had learned in my journey so far came to mind.

A voice in my head reminded me that because things didn't go well today, it didn't mean they had to stay that way.

When I arrived home, I threw away the sweets and started working, still determined to do the things I wanted to do.

I ended up sleeping at 1 am, but I felt fulfilled and satisfied in the end.

Life is not always easy, and if it is, you're doing something wrong.

You have all kinds of emotions, and there is always a contradiction.

You cannot feel happy if you're never sad.

They cannot exist without each other.

If you feel like shit and good in the same day.

You cry your eyes out and have the biggest smile on the same day, you experience what it is to be alive.

Character

Character is not something you have, it is something you build.

Character is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.

It is built on the choices you make in life, on your integrity, and the way you behave yourself.

Character is what makes or breaks you in the end, how well you handle it if things go bad.

What a good strong character can bring you are character traits like:

• Persistence

• Discipline

• A strong will

• An honest and meaningful life

• Being trustworthy

• Your morals

Those are things that, if you put time and effort into, you can train yourself to have the way you want.

Build yourself into the person you want to be and be that person.

With trial and error, you will get where you want to be.

Delete the stories you tell yourself.

Look at yourself through the eyes of your future self, being the person you want to be.

What would he or she think about the way you behave and present yourself at the moment?

Most of the time, in my case, it is:

"come on, you can do better, buckle up because there are many more to come!"

It encourages me to develop when I feel alone at my desk.

When I make sacrifices that society might not understand.

Like staying in or getting less sleep.

Clarity

It will keep on coming back in a lot of my articles because it is always important to have clarity!

When you have clarity, you have direction and you can make your own list of things you prioritize.

Follow that list so you know what to choose in certain situations based on your list of priorities.

My personal priorities are:

• I am committed to the continuous improvement of my skill sets, knowledge, and my being.

• I am creating Job Baltes BV and working towards further development (Job Baltes BV will be the name of the company, not the brand).

• If well spent and earned, I will give my full attention and energy to the people I love and value.

Set no more than 3 priorities and place them in order of importance to you.

This way, when you have a decision that aligns with 2 priorities, you can choose the one that has higher priority.

You can always change your priorities over time, but don't do that too often. Keep them the same for at least 4 months.

Rationalize

When you rationalize, you make things practical and logical, making it easier to:

• fix things

• handle emotions

• make better decisions

When you make something rational, you look at the facts, the numbers, and the outcomes.

What do they say?

Is it logical?

Numbers and facts often don't lie because they are concrete.

Check if you have the right numbers and facts.

For example, you can look at the time spent next to the current outcome of something. You can determine if something is reasonable or not in that way.

If you're fat and eat unhealthily, it is logical that you're fat and stay fat. If you start exercising and eating healthier, you will lose weight.

Based on facts and counting calories, it can be logical to get healthy based on your why and your how.

I was working on an hourly rate with commission bonuses for a cold calling job.

Now I've switched to a company that is purely commission-based.

But if you crunch the numbers, it makes more sense to switch.

Rationalizing makes things logical and thus easier!

Focus

Focus is as important as clarity; they go hand in hand.

If you have no clarity, it is harder to focus. If you have no focus, it is hard to gain clarity.

Focus means putting distractions aside and going for the things you want!

I was offered a role in a play because of my background in theatre.

It was a cool play and fun to do, and it also paid well.

It was even aligned with my mission.

But, it was not aligned with my priorities, so it would become a distraction.

I turned down the job offer because, when I rationalized it, I realized it would take up a lot of time - time that I do not have.

I asked a friend who knows me well for help because I thought it was difficult to make that decision.

He also said that I am already doing too much and that it would become a distraction.

In the end, it is your choice, of course, but it is always good to have a set of extra eyes to ask for help.

I know I can always turn to my best friend for that.

Focus is important. I have a couple of things written down on my wall to have more clarity and focus, and to make decision-making a bit easier.

What I have written down on my wall that helps me keep focus is:

• My 10-year vision

• My life's mission

• Character traits of my persona

• My principles

• My priorities

• My values

If you can look at that wall with all that written on it and keep on repeatedly looking at it every day, it will become your reality if you at least try to live up to it.

Big takeaways

We know that life is not always easy and that sometimes it is the way it is, and you have to deal with it.

Dealing with things and persisting, pushing, and not giving up shows character, especially if you keep your word and do what you say you would do no matter what.

Having clarity gives you the power to prioritize, and in that way, it is easier to focus and make decisions.

Seeing things from a rational perspective can make them doable and logical, and in that way, more simplistic.

Focus gives you the power to work towards something, and by having focus and clarity, you can block out distractions, sometimes with the help of a good friend.

If you want to grow further as a person, you gain more clarity and learn more about how you can create the life you want.

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That's it for now. I wish you a good day - Job Baltes.