If you're Going Through Hell, Keep Walking

If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.

-- Buddhist Proverb

We all have our own version of hell. Chances are we have all been there at one or more points in our lives. For some, it’s when life deals one crippling blow after another… when you wonder how you’ll get through the next day. For others, it may be a void – loneliness, boredom, lack of sense of purpose in life. It also may be severe illness or physical/mental disabilities or societal disadvantage, prejudice, or persecution. Hell goes well beyond our classic images of biblical fire and brimstone.

The good news is that the human spirit is resilient, and our instinct is to improve our lot, wherever we are. The best advice on this I’ve ever heard comes from Winston Churchill, “If you're going through hell, keep walking." If you stop moving forward, you’re quite unlikely to get out or to change your circumstances. It’s hard to get anywhere when you’re not going anywhere. Thing is – it’s all in your head. Not necessarily the cold hard facts of your physical realities, but your ability to cope with it an to do something to improve your situation.

In Man’s Search for Meaning, Dr. Viktor Frankl wrote an incredible manuscript detailing his first hand observations of human nature after surviving not one, but THREE Nazi Concentration Camps. His conclusions boil down to: those who have a purpose to keep on going – do. Those who give up hope and let their circumstances overpower their will to thrive – perish. All other things being equal, where each individual was stripped of all worldly possessions, physical health coming into the camps was no indication of who would survive. What mattered was in each and every heart, mind, and soul. They were truly in hell – and each one had to make the decision whether to keep walking or to sit down and surrender.

What’s in your head? Are you focused on your end goal? If you are clear on where you are going, you just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other, and sooner or later you’ll make it through whatever hell you currently may find yourself in. It won’t last forever, and you will feel better! All things good or bad eventually must come to an end. So if you’re going through hell – make sure you’re pointing in the right direction – and keep on going!

How to Get Out of Hell:

1. Envision your happy place. What does “not hell” or better yet “nirvana” look and feel like?
2. Determine if you need to do anything to get there. Do you need to take action, or just let time heal your wounds?
3. Take baby steps toward that future. Focus on getting through the next week… day… or hour (if it’s that painful). One step at a time.
4. Start “walking” forward and don’t give up! Find things to laugh about – little joy moments surround you all the time when you stop to take notice.

Hang in there. Life is change and change is life. If you’re going through tough times, remember that will change too.

Cheers and all my best to you!

~Brooxi

A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.

-- English proverb