In Agatha Christie’s book, Taken At The Flood, her famous detective, Hercule Poirot, says “One should never struggle against the inevitable…”
I chuckled as I read this line, recalling all the times I struggled against the inevitable…especially in my early years. In more recent times I’ve learned that many more things are inevitable than I envisioned in my youth.
Inevitable
So what is it that I’ve found inevitable? It’s inevitable that things rarely go according to plan. I’m optimistic by nature so it’s easy for me to think that things will work as envisioned. As I came to realize that things seldom work that way, I began developing plan B and, at times, plan C, only to find that events didn’t follow these plans any better than they did the original plan. Today, I simply lay out the first three to five steps I need to take and move forward confidently knowing that I’ll adapt to the inevitable, unanticipated events that occur.
It’s inevitable that we’ll face health issues. What they’ll be is impossible to predict. Yet we can develop the mindset that we can deal with anything that comes our way. With this mindset comes awareness that we have choices that we can make on how to deal with the malady(ies) we face. Making these choices consciously rather than emotionally makes the inevitable health issues less stressful and easier to deal with.
Financial downturns are inevitable. As my youngest brother is fond of saying “No one’s graph is a straight line up and to the right.” The sharks on Shark Tank readily admit how costly some of their decisions were. One of the ways to protect yourself from these downturns is to follow the advice in the book, The Richest Man In Babylon: live on 90% of your income and invest the rest. This practice makes it easier, and less stressful, in dealing with the inevitable economic downturns we face, personally and as a society.
It’s inevitable that we’ll make mistakes in our relationships. We say things in the heat of the moment and regret them later. We do things that are selfish and inconsiderate, then lament our actions. These are inevitable simply because we’re human. We can minimize occurrences of these mistakes by reminding ourselves each morning that our mission in life is to leave everyone we meet better off than when we met. That includes those closest and dearest to us.
It’s inevitable that we’ll make career choices we later regret. The key here is to acknowledge your mistake quickly and move onto something that suits you better. While that may seem daunting advice, the reality is that you’ll be successful when you’re doing something you love. Not because you possess any special talent, although you might, but because what you love is fun and exciting. Consequently, you invest more time and energy learning about and becoming more proficient than those who aren’t as passionate about what you do.
I could go on, but you get the picture: challenges are inevitable.
For you
In reading Hercule Poirot’s words, I realized that I had an opportunity to remind us all not to struggle against the inevitable. Instead, as I’ve suggested above, learn to trust in your ability to deal with anything that comes your way. After all, you’ve been doing that your entire life.
The suggestions offered above are ideas on how you can train your mind to be consciously aware of your ability to deal with life’s inevitabilities with less stress and greater confidence. These suggestions may even help you avoid some challenges.
For our kids
Live this message and your kids will learn to live that way as well. As they experience fear, anxiety, frustration and disappointment, use these experiences to help them realize that these are inevitable aspects of life. Then remind them of earlier situations in which they were at first fearful, anxious, frustrated or disappointed only to find later that things worked out well.
As they become more consciously aware of their ability to deal with life’s inevitabilities, they will learn to trust their abilities. In doing so they’ll enjoy life, confident in their ability to deal with whatever live offers…a priceless gift for your kids.
Feel free to share this blog with those you feel would benefit from this message. It’s an easy way to say “I love you. I’m thinking of you.”
I love hearing your thoughts and experiences, please share your thoughts in a comment.
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