Life vs The Puny Human

It's easy to get swept up in the rat-race and feel overwhelmed in life. At times you might even feel that the entire universe is plotting against you and trying to throw one roadblock after another at you. And no matter how hard you work, it just feels like you're going around in circles.We get hit, we get back up, brush off the dust and get back into the arena again for the next round.

Isn't that tiring at times? Don't you wish that life would just magically sort itself out while you lounged around with a tall glass of *insert your beverage of choice*? As human beings, we are programmed to defend. Be it defending ourselves, our loved ones or the things we hold dear. And when we feel threatened, some of you may retreat into your shell and wait for it to blow over, some of you might be in the eye of the storm, battling it out, and some of you might be trying to hold on to something while swatting away at whatever is bothering you.

I for one am a mix of all three. There are some roadblocks that come along when you least expect them to and you know that no matter how much you bang your fists against it, it's completely out of your control. So you have no option but to retreat and wait for it to blow over because you have done all you can to make sure that you achieve that one goal you've set your mind to. Giving up control on a situation is scary because you have no idea about the outcome.

But sometimes it's necessary to give up that control in order to grow as a person and develop that one trait which many of us lack - Patience.

It's a virtue that I lack deeply in life. I'm trying to get better at being patient; be it with people or with life in general. But I'd like to think that sometimes you just need to be more patient with yourself and accept that you're still learning and growing and you will continue to mess up in life. The reason you feel everything so deeply is because you expect yourself to be perfect. And when you don't reach that level of perfection, you're disappointed and you blame the universe for throwing that big anvil of a roadblock at you. I'm not saying that you should under-perform or even underestimate yourself. We are all miraculous beings, true. But you should be ready to relinquish control at times and let the chips fall where they may.

When I complain about a situation too much, my mum tells me to ask myself three questions:

1) Is this what you truly want to do?

2) Have you given it your very best?

3) Do you have faith in your abilities?

If your answer to all three questions is 'Yes', you're half way there already. I know, it's a cliche when people say that as long as you have given it your best shot, the outcome doesn't matter. The outcome does matter to an extent, but it's upto us whether we want the outcome to consume us or we can look at it, dwell on it a little, learn from it and move on. I have had disappointments in life much like anyone else, but these three questions have always helped me see myself through it somehow. Some disappointments have taken longer to get over than others, but being able to answer these questions honestly to myself have helped me get through these roadblocks in life.

It may or may not work for you or you might have your own set of questions that you ask yourself. But the point is, with every disappointment also comes an opportunity that you didn't know was there. You just have to be patient enough to take your eye off the disappointment and really look for that hidden opportunity.

The most important thing to remember when you're faced with a disappointment is this - How do you see yourself?. The world can and will tell you in a hundred different ways about all the things that you lack and you might even listen to them at times. But always, always believe that you are not what the world tells you; you are. When you see yourself in a new, better and more positive light, it always shines through to the rest of the world too. So, before you fold to pressure and decide to give up, tell yourself what a wonderful, strong and amazing person you are. Tell yourself that every day for a week, a month or even a year, and see the difference in the way you look at life and its disappointments.