The challenges we meet in life are often seen as the negative side of our existence. We alone can decide how we deal with them, either we can accept them, tackle them head on, or we can shy away from them and hope they go away. Anyone who has tried the second path will know that it virtually never works, so accepting challenges has to be the right way to go.
Accepting our challenges is not, initially, the most natural thing to do. It might seem easier to run away, to bury our heads, or just ignore the issues, but no good will ever come of taking that path. Taking responsibility and meeting challenges head on can be really hard. That doesn’t mean it has to be difficult, but it does mean we have to dig deep, stay strong and never ever give in.
So how should we approach the process? For me, it means looking at the challenge from all sides, and that involves keeping a calm mind and thinking clearly about all the aspects involved. Chanting allows me to calm my mind, to focus and to concentrate. This is the state of mindfulness and gives me control over my thoughts, words and deeds. For others it may be beneficial to meditate or to write down a list of all the facets of the challenge.
The whole process can be thrown into turmoil by our fundamental darkness, that little voice in our heads, that tells us the challenge is too hard, that we cannot overcome it and that giving up is the easy path. We must listen to that voice because it is part of us, but we must then rationalise the alternatives and be determined to take the right path, not the easiest path.
When you overcome a challenge, the feelings of elation are immense. When we give into a challenge, the feelings of defeat are equally immense, but terribly damaging. Gaining your first win will be the hardest. Once you know the winning feeling, you will never again want to feel defeat again.
So try different coping strategies, be that chanting, meditation, list building or whatever works for you. Be sure that overcoming challenges will make you a stronger and more confident person and that each win will make the next challenge easier to overcome. In time, you will lose the fear of challenges, and although you may not actually look forward to the next one, you will be more prepared to meet it and overcome it when it arrives.
Challenges we set ourselves can be easy, or they can be hard. Generally speaking, the challenges that are worth setting, take us well out of our comfort zone. So what is the secret of success in such a situation?
What happens in your life all comes down to you. Do not rely on others, or wait for them to do something. Try to develop such a strong sense of responsibility, that you can stand up to the fiercest of challenges, confidently proclaiming, “I can do it, I will succeed”
Determination is funny stuff. You can’t buy it, you can’t bottle it, in fact, if you don’t have any, the only way to obtain some is to create it for yourself. A little like water in your hands, it can trickle through your fingers and be gone, if you are not keeping an eye on it. Along with perseverance, it is the driving force behind each and every one of us achieving our goals in life.
One of my favourite training rides is from my home in Poole, over Poole Quay, through Sandbanks, along the promenade to Bournemouth Pier, and back. It’s not the most challenging ride, Evening Hill on the way from Lilliput to Sandbanks, and more particularly on the way back, is the only climb of any note whatsoever.
None of us like to be the subject of gossip, rumour or criticism, but there are times in life when it may be unavoidable. If you deviate from the well trodden path, the route that the many take, or have taken, you will open yourself up to closer, and often hostile, attention.
When life is beginning to feel a bit like swimming in treacle, the only key to success is to draw on your own determination. Sometimes things don’t go the way you wish and that can be for a number of reasons. But if you can remain calm, suppress your frustrations and stay focused, things will change.
Last weekend it was Oxford in the University Boat Race, this weekend it’s the 66-1 long shot Auroras Encore ridden by Ryan Mania in his very first Grand National.
The Boat Race was won this afternoon by Oxford. It was a very close race, with both sides giving their all for the cause, but there was a strange air of pointless strife as we watched the Cambridge president, in his last ever race, being interviewed as a loser.
The Search For Enlightenment 
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