The Ultimate Challenge And How To Rise To It

Copyright (c) 2011 Willie Horton

People faced with losing their jobs or their homes. Parents grappling with difficult teenagers. Relationships going down the tubes. Money worries, stress, anxiety. Life is full of challenges. Or is it? As we will see, none of the issues that face us in our everyday lives is the real challenge - the real challenge is to be able to see them for what they really and truly are and act appropriately and decisively. Unfortunately, it's difficult to see things for what they are if you are bedevilled by a normal mind. And most of us are.

Make no mistake about it, issues that have to be dealt with are part and parcel of daily life - from dealing with teenage children to coping with a difficult boss, from facing major problems in your business to handling money problems. But, as I say, these are not the challenges - these are simply the ebbs and flows of life. And, like the tide that is constantly coming in and going out, all these issues arise and pass away. The sad fact is that we become emotionally immobilised by our problems - and we react.

The normal subconscious mind simply dictates our reactions. Now the big problem is that the normal subconscious never focuses on what the problem actually is. It puts its own spin on the nature of the problem by using what psychology calls our 'stored knowledge' as its starting point. This stored knowledge was learned when we were young and impressionable - it is decades out of date. As a result, we are ill-equipped to handle life's problems. And that is why so many people suffer from anxiety and stress and why so many people keep repeating the same old mistakes.

On the other hand, if you are clear in your mind and focused on what is actually going on, solutions will and do present themselves. We do, however, have a natural barrier to overcome. You see, as things stand, our subconscious ensures that we react - quite different to act! - to what we think is going on. And this whole process happens both subconsciously - so we're not aware of it - and automatically. And what you've got to realize is that this is the subconscious mind's default way of operating - it's the way that we're hard-wired. You have to be prepared to work at developing your clear state of mind. And both commitment and self discipline are prerequisites for this job.

Your work will require that you develop your ability to clear your mind when you don't need it, so that your mind will be clear when it's most required. A few minutes meditation, before the day gets going, is the best way to ensure that you've cleared you mind for the day ahead. Many people, of course, misunderstand meditation - they believe that meditation calms the mind. No - it energizes that mind so that you're ready, willing and able to take the real action that is called for - and this type of action is world's apart from our normal reactive behaviour.

You need to make a daily commitment. This calls for the kind of self-discipline on which I have already touched. People often tell me that they have committed to, for example, changing their lives. However, commitment isn't a one-off decision. Commitment demands action - again and again. You only prove your committment by consistent action. In other words, you've got to discipline yourself to do a little meditation each morning - after all, you've no idea when life will chuck the next problem in your direction.

A clear mind will enable you understand the nature of each and every problem - as it really is - something that will, sooner or later, go away, assuming that you've taken the right action. In some situations you will find that taking no action is actually the best action. From time to time, you will be called upon to be brave and courageous - and the normal mind doesn't like being brave or courageous! However, only a normal muddled mind sees such action as brave or courageous - a clear mind will simply see the actions that need to be taken as the next logical step in resolving matters. Armed with clarity of mind, it will not only become obvious as to what the right course of action is - you'll be fully primed to go and take that action, effortlessly.

There is, of course, an even more exciting benefit that flows from having a clear mind. Not only will you be able to see life's problems for what they really are, you will also clearly see life's opportunities as well. All too often, the normal mind believes that every silver lining has a cloud - we see shadows and ghosts where none exist. However, everything becomes crystal clear to a clear mind! It will be obvious that you can banish life's dark clouds. But it will also be obvious that even those dark clouds come with a 'silver lining'!

Basically, if we want to get on with our lives, there are problems and issues that we simply must face up to - more often, though, we need to take appropriate action to deal with them. As you now know, the normal mind will quite possibly believe that the real action required is close to impossible - this is on top of the fact that the normal mind will probably not even know what the real problem is in the first place! Furthermore, a clear mind will ensure that, in additoin to being able to spot live's opportunities, you will be well placed to actually do something about them.


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Willie Horton's acclaimed Personal Development Workshops have enabled his many clients change their lives. He works with top companies like Allergan, Pfizer, Diageo, Nestle and Deloitte around the world. His Personal Development Website, Gurdy.Net, is home to his online workshops and seminars. Author and sought-after speaker, he has been working in the field since 1996.