We all have hard times

Why do we regularly face tough times?

The situations and circumstances have differences but they are all the same: hard.

We went to school, we studied hard. We took tests, our teachers scolded us. We flunked, our parents spanked us. Then we entered college.

We did feasibility studies; we defended thesis. We got humiliated in front of the class. All these negative experiences made us suffer. Then we got the jitters when we held a diploma on one hand and a resume on the other because we were anxious for employment.

Remember the joy we had when we were informed that we got accepted and asked to submit requirements then told to start work?

We were ecstatic! We were excited!

The story did not end there. Senior executives in the work place bullied us; bosses who behaved bad and not inspiring. The suffering went on. We slugged it out and we experienced a relative amount of success: we got promoted. We experienced increase in our salaries. We built competencies and strived for more success.

Now, have you seen a pattern?

People want more success. Not because they are greedy, but because they want to have better lives. The Asian financial crisis clobbered many businesses. Layoffs and retrenchments removed jobs.

Political uncertainties and economic meltdowns make us realize that our current success may not guarantee our future. Deep down, people honestly, passionately and desperately want more success, happiness and prosperity. People want to be able to do more, be more and have more. Here’s the problem: some people have been lulled into thinking that life is the way it is because of destiny or worse, because it is a result of someone else’s fault. And then the blame-game continues.

We should all remember that there is no shortcut to success. Most winners of lottery end up with lives that are even more miserable than the days before they won. Because they got the “success” they wanted without building any skills and going through “hard times.” Many of them end up unhappy.

We will never be happy unless we are productive. Those who have built tremendous fortune always get the ire and envy of those who have not.

Heed these:

Being wealthy doesn’t mean that life is easy. It’s hard in ways that are different from those who are broke. Having more zeroes in one’s checkbook doesn’t make life problem-free.

A person who doesn’t take care of his health will experience sickness and disease. But just because a person is healthy doesn’t mean that life would be easy.

A person without a job has problems and so does an employed person.

Relationships fail, parents neglect and friends cheat. Kids disrespect and spouses betray. We face different challenges of a complicated society and many things happen that are beyond our control. The scriptures, particularly the Book of Job, say that man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

When going through a hard time, process the experience. Do what is right. Don’t just do what is convenient. We should stay uncompromising in our values. We will always emerge stronger and wiser. Then continue in our quest to achieve more and meet bigger challenges.

Here is a very thought-provoking idea that may even come as a shock and disappointment: true success does not come by getting more or doing more. 

We already have the means to be successful. True success comes by elimination and not addition. It is by removing the clutters of things, people and activities that keep us from experiencing true success. Everything boils down to loving God and others.

 Success is eliminating the non-valuable activities that keep us from experiencing the truly valuable ones.

Yes, we all have hard situations. How we rise up to the challenge and how we stay focused are things that make hard situations valuable.

You can connect with Francis Kong through Facebook at www.facebook.com/franciskong2 or listen to his program called “Business Matters” from Monday to Friday at 8:00 am and 6:30 pm in 98.7 dzFE-FM ‘The Master’s Touch’, the classical music station.