From climate change to religious polarisation, from the refugee crisis to COVID-19, humanity is being challenged as never before.
I wanted to change the world. When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.
When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as a worldly man, I tried to change my family.
Now, as a worldly man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.
Based on the experiences I have had in my life, I have come to the conclusion that we can’t control the tough and painful situations that life puts in our path. All we can do is control our response to those painful situations which come in our way. The only distinction that separates those who fall apart in hard times from those who persevere to find motivation, purpose, fulfilment, determination, serenity, and success on the other side of their pain is their positive mindset.
Positive mindset is a mindset which separates the strong from the weak, the victorious from the quitters, and the champions from those who give up trying and become victims of their environment. Our life can be under our control irrespective of the amount of negativity which is around us, as we always have the option of choosing to fill our mind with positivity by listening to motivational audio tracks, watching inspirational content and associating with people who live a life with positive mindset through phone, email and WhatsApp.
Meditation is one of the most powerful and under-appreciated ways to stay positive and motivated through hard times.
But here’s the problem: whenever people picture meditation, they have a tendency of visualizing an image of a compassionate monk sitting in the lotus pose and drinking tea. We tend to associate meditation with compassion, peace, or tranquillity. Meditation is something which is very deep. “With every breath, the old moment is lost; a new moment arrives. We exhale and we let go of the old moment. It is loss to us. In doing so, we let go of the person we used to be. We inhale and breathe in the moment that is becoming. In doing so, we welcome the person we are becoming. We repeat the process. This is meditation. This is renewal. This is life.”
As per Pema Chodron, meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already. Meditation not only does eliminate your negative feelings about your tragedies, it also gives you access to the clarity, creativity, and positive mindset needed to bounce back from your pain and come up with ideas for how to overcome your misfortune.
We rarely unlock our true potential unless we are challenged with obstacles or are forced to overcome what seems impossible. It’s always important to keep in mind “We must Always look at the bigger picture and let go of temporary attachments to sail through the crisis situations.”
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.
Author of the above write up is Mr. Ankit Mishra currently working for Schindler India as Existing Installation - Group Leader in Gurgaon Branch. Ankit got his engineering degree from Bangalore-VTU. Ankit enjoys trekking, travelling and exploring different cultures. Ankit’s treks include Tungnath-Chandrashila, KheerGanga, Triund-Snowline and Nag Tibba.
