5 Ways To Win When It Seems Like You Are Losing It All
By Bro. Mustafaa Abdul Muhammad
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” Confucius
It happens to the best of us… we are cruising along in life and we face a setback, dissapointment or complete fall.
The Qur’an, scripture for Muslims, says let the day and the night be signs for you. This applies to our lives as such, sometimes we are in the daytime of our lives and everything is bright, positive and going well, yet at other times we are in the night where everything is dark, not clear and there is defeat around us. These signs remind us that no condition is permanent. As day gives into night and night gives into day, so the ups and downs of our life are not permanent.
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has taught and shown by his personal example how to navigate through the vicissitudes of life. He has taught us to be careful how we judge a thing in motion, because conditions can literally change overnight.
In conclusion, I would like to offer five tips to help you overcome the dark times of life… the times when it seems like you are losing it all.
- The first and maybe the most important of all is to change your thinking. the Bible says in Romans 12:2, “Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” When we are going through a dark time it might be hard to see any other outcome but more darkness, however studying the lives of others reminds us that no condition is permanent. People have gone though similar or even worse conditions than you, but they have overcome these challenges. Changing your mind from despair to hopeful will give you the frame of mind to go through your own dark time. When you are down don’t compound it by more negative thinking.
- Look for the silver lining and create small victories. If you get knocked down by life then crawl until you can get back up. The point is: some movement is better than no movement. Strive to create small victories that you can cherish and that will motivate you to keep going until you reach bigger things. I always remember 10 percent of something beats 100 percent of nothing.
- Don’t give up(in your mind or in reality). I am a big boxing fan and I use boxing as a metaphor to teach lessons. I have seen fights where a boxer was getting out classed and knocked around the whole fight, but they came back in the latter rounds to win. If they would have focused on their losses and gave up then they would have loss the opportunity to win latter. You could be losing every round of your life, but as long as you are on your feet, you are still competitive. Between rounds a fighter has his coach to give him strategies and motivation to go one more round. Listen to or read from motivational speakers to stay charged up in the fight of your life.
- Plan your work and work your plan. When times are dark, your thinking may be erratic and unclear. Clear your thoughts by creating a step by step plan to meet and overcome the obstacles in your path. Just seeing it written down and in order can help with the swirling thoughts and emotions you may be experiencing.
- Take care of your health. Often when we are feeling down and out there may be a tendency to overeat, eat junk and neglect our bodies. Eating the wrong food and eating too much slows us down and takes away the energy we need to challenge life. Eat sensible and treat yourself occasionally without overdoing it. Exercise either at home or at a gym of your choosing. Exercising releases feel good hormones and keeps you positive.
There you have it! These five tips put into practice can help you stay up when it seems like everything is pulling you down. Also, feed your spiritual self during these dark times by praying, meditating, fasting and reading spiritual texts.
Thank you for reading these few words.
Mustafaa Abdul Muhammad is the author of the book, My Walk with Farrakhan: My Testimony And Writing Inspired By My Life’s Journey With My Leader, Teacher And Guide as well as other books, which can be found on Amazon. He is also the host of the My Walk With Farrakhan podcast and CEO of My Walk With Farrakhan Ministries And Publishing LLC.
