The Strength In Having No Other Choice

Introduction: 

Hey Buddy, 

How's it going with you? 

Truly, I often think of your welfare and when I do, a short prayer follows.

For life to treat you kindly and for it to smile at you even as you smile back.

All the best always, my friend, I'm rooting for you. 

In getting started with today's conversation, when someone says "Don't put all your eggs in one basket" what comes to mind? 

Especially, for those in the school of thought that we should "Put all our eggs in one basket and then watch over it" 

Whichever one of these opinions we lean towards, we've reached our conclusion on the basis of our understanding of risk as it concerns risk management and risk tolerance.

So we weigh our options, this or that, benefits and rewards, before making a decision, the one we feel best suits us. 

Yet, this is only true for situations that afford us the luxury of choice. 

Other times in life, we're faced with just one decision, which is to find the courage to swim, to stay afloat, to go all in, to make it work, because we have nothing else to fall back on.

These are the most difficult circumstances but they're also the most impactful ones as we watch ourselves reach levels of strength we never knew we had. 

Staying alive in the face of survival. 

What then are these revelations about ourselves and how do they impact us afterwards?

Discussion:

If the doctor says that surgery is the only way to repair an issue and that the chance of survival is slim based on past records, then we've found ourselves in a situation where we must take the chance. 

If we have a partner bent on divorce despite all efforts to stay together, it can lead to the unenviable predicament of a custody battle.

A decision that can alter the cause of our lives forever, bringing an end to some of our most beautiful dreams and plans. 

Pushed to a corner, suffering the pain of looking at the one that used to be on our side pointing fingers from the other end. 

What about those situations where a business setback leads to a bad debt, one we won't repay even if we sold everything we had or having the challenge of working a struggling business into profitability or losing everything invested? 

Through different difficult circumstances we find ourselves confronted in ways that demand we step up or get consumed. 

It's during those times that we're broken by pain and remoulded beautifully, developing the following characters: 

▪︎ Humility 

Faced with a problem that we can't solve, we're reminded of the folly in thinking that we have a good life because we've been planning better or living better than others. 

Sudden events like accidents, and other human and natural disasters can immediately impact our lives negatively leading to unprecedented struggle. 

Being in desperate situations remind us that we're not special and that every success has come to us as a blessing from God where he has allowed even the circumstances beyond our control to come together for our success. 

We also learn to see others equally knowing that life is a leveller and can come at anyone so fast. 

▪︎ Endurance 

The strength of character that allows us to go through pain without breaking is called endurance. 

In tight corners we expand our threshold for suffering, learning patience and calmness as we watch ourselves rise from something we thought would ruin our world. 

It's finding the physical and mental toughness to hang in there until we're healed. 

▪︎ Steadfastness 

In the meaning of our suffering, some of us have found purpose.  

So many times we've seen people establish foundations and aids to cater for those with rare sickness conditions that they themselves have recovered or also suffering from or feeding programs to help people still subjected to the harsh living conditions they've risen from. 

When our suffering comes in the form of loss of wealth or status, it reminds us that we're just mere custodians of everything we have or have become.

An awareness of our responsibilities to be prudent with our resources even as it concerns time and energy and to use our positions to the benefit of those around us. 

▪︎ Focus 

When faced with survival our primary goal is to stay alive. 

When we're faced with no other option than to succeed or be thrashed out, we're challenged to put in all the work it takes to improve ourselves. 

Many times it's the pressure of having nothing to fall back on that urges us to keep our eyes on the price. 

▪︎ Resilience 

As we make it a habit to push back our struggles over again, we develop this self confidence that we have what it takes to bounce back from any situation.

This will see us unfazed by the challenges in the process because we know that the only way we get to our destination is by overcoming them.

■ Coming Out Strong 

When faced with helpless situations the wisest thing is to turn to God our ever present help in times of trouble.

Many of us have been consumed by our asversary because rather than raise our heads in prayer we bury it in self pity and victimhood. 

We may even think that God is no longer watching over us, else, he would have stepped in to our rescue, yet this is far from the truth as its in situations like this that we build our trust in him. 

In challenging times, our confidence comes from the assurance that God can handle all our circumstances and in trusting him we allow him to take charge. 

This is how we come out strong. 

Summary: 

The best part of recovering from a difficult situation is who we become from it. 

Everytime we overcome an obstacle we overcome our fear of it and all other ones associated with it.

When faced with a make or break circumstance, we're stretched to improve and redirected back to God the source of our strength. 

Master Apprentice.

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