What Do You Have in Store?

“People have the inner resources to become anything they want to be. Challenge just becomes the vehicle for tapping into those inner resources.”—Erik Weihenmayer

We all need to assess our capacities and inner resources, and use them optimally to weather life's storms and lead a fulfilling life. We sometimes forget that life has endowed us with wonderful qualities and abilities which can help us enjoy and successfully conclude our earthly ride.

We must make our inventory to realize the gems: strength, values, stamina, determination, and courage… that can keep us going and help us make the most of our journey. We have been through a lot and these trials have made us ready to accomplish our mission on earth.

You, too, possess a lot of determination, for example. Do you remember when you were a child, and you were learning to walk and talk? All this was difficult: you fell many times; you made many mistakes. Those were not effortless tasks. But you kept going. And today you do these things easily and unconsciously. This determination is still available. It is innate.

We all have been through tough times. Time slowed down or stopped, and we wondered whether things would change or remain the same, leaving us desperate. But we did not give up. We mustered all our strength and courage; we made a brief step at a time; days went by and eventually, we found ourselves out of danger, happy for the outcome, for hope had redeemed us.

Human resilience and persistence are proverbial. Viktor Frankl, the famous Austrian psychiatrist, wrote about his experience in concentration camps during the Nazi reign. He found meaning and purpose in the horrific circumstances he went through. The hell he endured prepared him to become a beacon of hope and survival for humanity.

What are your abilities and qualities? What inner resources have accompanied you on your way and seen you through the trials of life? Is it courage? Hope? Perseverance? Determination? You alone know. However, when we think a little, we all find out that countless gems are decking our lives. Let us be thankful for them and use them for our greatest well-being and that of our fellow humans.

“We can all endure disaster and tragedy, and triumph over them—if we have to. We may not think we can, but we have surprisingly strong inner resources that will see us through if we only use them. We are stronger than we think.”—Dale Carnegie