Here it is again… That gut wrenching frustration and feeling of being stuck dealing with the same problems over and over again is so completely exhausting and depressing. You know what I mean! It’s that feeling that everyone is out to get you and that you have to work so hard only to gain such little ground. It always leaves me with the exhausted sense of despair and the lingering question: Why is life always so hard on me?
Recently, I have realized that life is not necessarily being hard on me exclusively… Rather the problem is the fact that I expect life to go without struggle and when things get difficult I find myself angry and feeling like a child yelling ‘it’s not fair!’
I know my struggles in life do not even hold a candle to the very real difficulties and struggles that others face. Sometimes, I just need that perspective to get through the despair and hard work required to grow. But most of the time, the best solution is to start from the base expectation that life is hard, everyone is out for themselves and therefore not waiting at my disposal to make things smooth and resistance free for me, and that if things do happen to go smoothly for some reason, that is the exception and most definitely not that norm.
I have found so much freedom in changing my expectations about life. As I am able to adjust my expectations to better reflect reality, I find myself free to be more creative about finding solutions, more resolved and determined to see my way through the struggle, and just all around more comfortable with myself and with life.
Life is hard, expect nothing less than a fight to the death… Literally!
-JS