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Through the trials and tribulations of life, we learn how to either succumb from the pressures of life or prevail beyond our circumstances.  Learning how to prevail is not always easy, especially when the pressures are too heavy for one person to bear; and sometimes even too much for two people to bear.  Nevertheless, when we work hard at preserving our mental sanity, self-worth, and our value system, we can prevail.  To prevail is defined as, “To prove more powerful than opposing forces; to be victorious, and to be current.”  To prevail also means to persuade someone to believe something or to do something. 

 

To be current, you have to think about the current issue that you are encountering that is causing you to feel somewhat defeated.  Don’t focus on the feelings of defeat.  Focus on what you need to do to Not feel defeated anymore.  Keep in mind, that your focus should be on doing positive things, not things that are detrimental to your health, safety or well-being. 

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The way in which you can shift your focus from the feelings of defeat to focusing on what you can do to not feel defeated, is to ask yourself the following questions:

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What can I do to resolve my issue?
 

What can I do to not feel defeated?
 

How can I push past my emotions, so that my emotions do not stop me from taking the necessary actionable steps that I need to take?
 

How can I work towards making this situation better for me?

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What resources and support do I need to reach a resolution to the issues that I am encountering?  How can I access those resources?

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Is my ego/pride in the way of my willingness to get the help that I need?  If so, how can I get out of my own way to get to the victory?

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How can I focus on the solution to my problems, more than I focus on the problem?

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When you focus on your problems, your thoughts can become overwhelming.  This feeling of being overwhelmed can lead to defeating you.  Shift your mindset from negative thinking to positive thinking by replacing each negative thought with a positive outcome.  It is like saying to yourself…Although this, that…with a But God kind of spirit.  Below is an example:

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Negative Thought: I wish I had money, so I could get out of all this financial debt.  I’m tired of being broke. It is so depressing to not have enough money to pay my bills and enjoy life. 
 

Positive Outcome:  What can I do to earn more money, so that I can get out of financial debt?  I don’t want to feel depressed or stressed about my financial situation, so I am going to work towards creating a budget for myself and stick to the budget.  I am going to work towards paying down my smaller debt first until I am debt free. I am going to enjoy my life without worrying about money.
 

Actionable Plan:  More positive thinking, budgeting, and paying down smaller debt to improve my financial situation.  Enjoy life.
 

When you focus too much on the problems or issues, it can make you not want to do anything about your situation (because you don’t want to think about it at all).  Know that if you don’t do anything to improve your situation, you will Never prevail.  If you truly want to prevail, after you answer the questions listed above, take the necessary actionable steps that you need to take to prevail.  Don’t let your circumstances, no matter what happens in your life, make you give up on yourself…REFUSE TO BE DEFEATED and You Will Prevail!

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By Lynnette Clement