How do you respond when something you have to accomplish is extremely difficult? What are the steps you take to apply yourself to a demanding project? How do you react when this thing that you must do is just too big for you? When it is something you cannot avoid, how do you tackle it?
Perhaps you start by studying the problem, making plans, comparing what must be done with what you are capable of. Maybe you call for advice from friends and family, or consult experts for tips and pointers, or maybe you research, study, or do some training to improve your ability to tackle the project, or you might build a team of colleagues/friends/family to work together to get through this difficult endeavor.
There are many approaches to choose from.
How do you respond when someone else, your child, friend, colleague, etc. is the one with the overwhelming task? Do you give advice, point them to experts, help them study or train, join the team they need to get through their work?
Life is one of those very, very difficult tasks.
There are a lot of people out there who think it is supposed to be easy. There are a lot of people out there who will sell you a house, a car, a watch, or a phone that they say will make it easy. A lot of people despair because no matter how much money, no matter how great a job, no matter their personal, political, or social power, they discover that life still is not easy.
Those people are looking for the wrong answer. The answer does not lie in lowering the bar until you no longer have to run and leap, but can simply step over it. The answer does not lie in a device that can organize your addresses, your calendar, and even your 1,500 downloaded songs to have at the touch of a finger. The answer is not in making life easier. Continually looking for some gadget to solve the difficulties of life will lead to continual disappointments.
The answer is the same as for other difficult tasks, to study, plan, learn, train, ask for help. In short, the answer is not in making life easier to handle, but in making yourself better able to handle it.
Would you expect an Olympic sprinter who wants to set a new world record to wish that the current record were not quite so fast, or to train with the difficulty of beating it fully understood? Would you expect an Olympic sprinter to train alone, or to train with a coach and teammates? Would the right path to breaking that record being use of steroids, or training the body with honesty and integrity?
Life is one of those very, very difficult tasks, so live every day in a way that makes you strong enough to handle it. Become strong enough to ask for and accept help when you need it. Practice patience so you can lend help when needed. Strengthen your financial situation so you can give to charities. Strengthen your emotional well being so you can be a pillar for others when they are weak. Make yourself strong, so others can lean on you.
How can all this be done? Practice. If you have an extra quarter, drop it in the Salvation Army bucket. If you have a free Saturday, help a friend move. If you are feeling secure, listen to someone who is struggling with life. Practice in little ways every day. Pick trash up from the ground and throw it in a can, hold a door for someone, buy someone dinner, play someone a song on your guitar, cut off your hair and donate it to Locks of Love. Ask for help preparing supper. Let someone else vacuum the carpet this time. There are millions of things you can do.
Start now.
