“As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation — either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
When I was forced to undergo a withdrawal from a potent drug that would embark me on an arduous journey that would involve many months of suffering, I thought long and hard about how I should bring meaning to this significant part of my life. In the early days of my withdrawal, when I was trying to figure this all out, I knew a few things: I wanted to spend my time productively; I wanted to express myself creatively; I wanted to grow as a person; and I wanted to be a force of positive change in the world.
I gravitated towards writing. I started a blog and I spent countless hours writing away, honing my craft, and building something that would bring value to the lives of others.
Now, the whole point of this post isn’t about my accomplishments. It’s about—as MLK Jr. puts it so eloquently—turning your suffering into a creative force. This is a brief glance at my story, how I did it, and how it turned out for me, but there are some universal points I want to highlight in doing so.
During my withdrawal, I experienced some pretty nasty, debilitating physical symptoms that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy (not like I have any anyway). It sucked major, but then I came to a realization: my physical pain would be inevitable, but my mental suffering would be a choice. I could choose to wallow in my pain and despair, or I could simply experience it and choose to move forward with positivity in each moment. I chose the latter, and doing so was very liberating.
Here’s what we have to understand about suffering:
Suffering, is raw emotional energy. If you can transmute that energy into a positive force; if you can harness your feelings and turn it into creative fuel; some very beautiful things can blossom from that.
If I had not gone through my withdrawal—if I had not suffered—I’m not sure I would have ever found my passion for writing. As each day goes by, my love for the art of the written word grows deeper. It’s helped me understand who I am as a person; it’s helped me clarify my values and life philosophy; and it’s helped me paint a clear vision of what I want out of life. It’s transformed me.
My writings, over time, gave me an opportunity to better understand, process, and refine myself in a very tangible, intimate way, that I otherwise wouldn’t have. Writing was one of my suffering’s blessings.
My whole withdrawal experience put my life on hold. In retrospect, because of the severity of it all, I was denied from enjoying and participating in some very basic pleasures of life; things like socializing; exercise; sleep; showers; etc. Now that I’m better, I have granted myself the absolute right to live, fully, now. I’ve made it a habit to exercise because I couldn’t before. I enjoy showers now because before, my skin was too sensitive and it caused immense pain. I enjoy every time I get to go out with friends because before, it was out of the question. They say in prison is where one grants one’s self the right to live. My withdrawal was my prison, and now that I’m better, I use my past experiences as fuel to carpe diem (seize the day). I’ve learned to truly be thankful for the good things in life.
This has no doubt been one of the most tumultuous times of my life. I’ve never experienced so much suffering; physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. But my decision to turn this experience into a positive was why it has also been one of the best things to have happened to me. When I was going through the thick of it, I was such a mess that I was literally quite useless. I realized this, and I made the promise to myself that, if I couldn’t change my external circumstances, I would change my internal ones. After this decision was made, my character blossomed. I became a better human being. A better writer. I fell in love and partially became obsessed with self-improvement. I used my suffering to transform myself, and my life, for the better.
To put into perspective how much of my withdrawal experience changed my life, February 16 marked my 13th month since withdrawing. If I had to redo my entire withdrawal experience to be the person I am today; to have the clarity that I do today; to have the clear vision that I do of my tomorrow; I would do it all over in a heartbeat.
I turned my suffering into a creative force that revolutionized my life, just as MLK Jr. used his suffering—and that of his peoples—to revolutionize the social and political structure of our world. To choose to suffer is a choice. To choose to use that suffering as a creative force for change is a wildly different one. I hope you choose the latter. No matter what you’re going through, you can turn it into a positive. You can leverage it to your success. You just have to make the decision to do so.
Christopher Tan is a writer at his blog The Art Of Life where he inspires others to become authors of their own story. He helps people wake up to their truth, power, and potential of blossoming into the best version of themselves. You can follow him on Twitter here.
The post How To Turn Your Suffering Into A Creative Force appeared first on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement.
1) For the foreground (from the bottom to the mountain) I used 4 exposures and blended them using Tony Kuyper’s latest 16 bit Luminosity Masks and blend if sliders.
2) Next the sky. For the sky I used another exposure properly exposed for the sky only. Honestly the clouds were not trailing like this. I applied few additional blur filters in photoshop to get the surreal look.
3) Finally I use luminosity masks again for the local/global adjustment like tonal balance, color correction, burn/dodge and the contrast.
Enjoy it with a black background 🙂
Think about the craziest dream you’ve ever had.
No, I’m not talking about the “dream” that comes to you when you sleep. I’m talking about the dream that keeps you from sleep; the one that, in a perfect world, can be achieved with zero effort.
Then, list the things that keep you from achieving that dream.
If you’re like most people, your list would be roughly as long as the Nile River. Also, most of the items would follow a pattern similar to the ones below:
“It’s Too (Blank)”
“Too Hard.” “Too Unrealistic.” “Too Simple.”
Do you often use these phrases to describe your dreams? Because I’ve got news for you: The more you tell yourself that something isn’t possible, the more likely that “something” will be impossible.
Luckily, it works the other way around, too. If you believe, with every fiber of your being, that something is doable, you’ll always find a way to do it.
“I’m Not (Blank) Enough”
When you say your dream is “too (blank),” you’re pinning the blame on your dream. When you say you’re “not (blank) enough,” you’re pinning the blame on yourself.
Stop it.
Stop blaming yourself for not being rich/smart/beautiful enough. Stop blaming yourself for things out of your control. Stop blaming yourself, when you could be doing something more productive with your time.
You’re better than that. You’re better than someone who chooses to wallow in self-pity, instead of taking a deep breath and shouting, “Okay, let’s do this!” Because you CAN do it!
“I Don’t Have (Blank)”
It’s always about not having something, isn’t it? Not enough money, not enough time, not enough talent.
Well, why not make the effort to chase after those things you don’t have? For example, if you feel like you don’t have enough skills to do your job, you can always find ways to further your education. To start your journey, you need to ask yourself what your goals are and what is needed to achieve it.
Better yet, why not forget about what you don’t have, focus on what you do have, and work from there? You always have the chance to start a new journey, you just have to ask yourself what your goals are and what is needed to achieve them – then go after them!
“It’s Not My Fault That I’m (Blank)”
Refusing to blame yourself, however, is not the same as refusing to take responsibility for anything.
Acknowledge your faults, yes. But don’t use those faults as excuses for not achieving anything. Find a way to work around them, or take a leaf from the books of the world’s most famous people who achieved success despite their disabilities.
“I Screwed up Before; I’m Going to Screw up Again”
There’s nothing you can do about what happened before. But there’s much you can do about what’s yet to happen. Let it go.
If you can’t let go, do this little exercise: Write down every detail of your previous screw-up. Then, file it away in a drawer, or crumple it up and toss it into the trash bin. You’ll feel a lot better, trust me.
“I’ll Do This Some Other Time”
So, you finally want to do somethi- wait a minute. What do you mean, you’re only going to do it tomorrow?
You don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. If you don’t find a way to do it now, what makes you think tomorrow will be any different?
Now What?
Stop dilly-dallying. Do that thing you’ve always wanted to do. Or stay in your comfort zone, and spend the rest of your life wondering “What if?” Either choice is fine, actually; choose to do what will fulfill you. All I can say is, the option that takes you out of your comfort zone is the more exciting option.
——-
Sarah Landrum is a freelance writer and blogger sharing advice on self-improvement, career development, and everything in-between. Follow her for more inspiration @SarahLandrum
The post 6 Excuses That Hold You Back From Success (and What to Do About Them) appeared first on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement.
Sig Nordal 