Ever heard this saying before?  What does it mean?

We often find ourselves in situations where we wish we could be somewhere else, like on a beach somewhere thousands of miles away, not having to worry about the situation before us or what’s coming.

Unfortunately that may not be possible or realistic. Nonetheless, there’s a valuable saying for this situation that can help you right now…

It goes like this, “This Too Shall Pass”

It means that no matter how tough your current issue, dilemma or situation, in due time it will go away and you’ll continue to live on afterward.

That’s important to understand because it means that tough times and difficulties don’t last forever. The situation you’re in won’t always be that way. This is comforting to know.

I have used this saying to ease my nerves and worry in situations where tensions were high and things were difficult, and have become more easygoing and patient in some areas as a result.

Things to Remember

• If it seems like it’s huge and overwhelming

• If it seems like it will last forever

• If it is not where you want to be or what you want to do

• If It’s Not Too Good…

No matter how bad it gets, you MUST remind yourself of these comforting words, “This Too Shall Pass”. These are words worth thinking about.

I’ve used them on several occasions. In some situations, each day or every week even. But rest assured, bad times will pass by. All you have to do is get through them.

There will be better days. Don’t forget this. The next time you find yourself in any mess no matter what it is, just tell yourself these words when you need them…“This Too Shall Pass!”

I think the young folks forget that life is tough. Parents today are too easy on their kids, and the kids don’t learn a thing by this. In a world and a life so tough, parents aren’t always able to bail their kids out nor should they.

If they do, the kids stay dependent, and never become self-sufficient or productive citizens.

I Should Know

I’m a first generation immigrant living in the U.S. without any relatives here. I have an understanding of how an orphan must feel, to an extent. There is a terrible feeling of loneliness that can engulf you.

I know what it’s like to be alone, in a tough world, often in situations where the only choice is to do or die. Like in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, a movie I can truly relate to.

I have similar tales, and I not just watched the movie, but I felt it, because it struck home! There is a difference between watching something for entertainment, versus feeling something you can definitely relate to.

Thank God I learned how to make it the old fashioned way, by earning it, and by depending on God. He deserves all the credit. So I can’t really say I was all alone. And I must say, IT WAS STILL TOUGH!

Easy or Difficult?

If I had a choice between the two, I would more often choose easy. Honestly who wouldn’t? But the reason why I would be careful about this is because I know I wouldn’t be able to deal with when the going got tough, if I always had it easy.

Having it rough better helps prepare for difficult times, survive them, and then hopefully prosper afterward.

We must see difficulties through. We all want to quit. But quit once and you’ll quit over and over, and never win. That’s why they say:

• Quitters Never Win and Winners Never Quit

• When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Go Fishing…oops I meant, The Tough Get Going

• Never Say Die

So the next time you develop some self-pity, remember that “Nobody Said It Was Gonna Be Easy” and that you should still see the positives gained and be content with that. Stop expecting the easy road.

You have to earn it, persevere, and then happiness will give you an occasional glimpse. The goal is of course to always be happy, not just pursue it!

Count your blessings, not your crosses.

Count your gains, not your losses.

Count your joys instead of your woes.

Count our friends instead of your foes.

Count your health, not your wealth.

Contentment Is Truly The Key to Happiness

I don’t know who wrote the following quote, so I apologize for the non-attribution and if I find out I’ll give due credit, but this is quite creative, wise, and true and I consider it to be one of the top or best quotes or poems, a good rule of life and positive outlook for us all!

• Any illness I ever get!
• The real estate market (can it get any worse?!)
• The US economy itself (can it get any worse?!)
• Gas prices (now that they’ve finally gone down!)
• Things that can break down on my car!

This saying It’ll Get Worse Before It Gets Better has it’s merits

1. For one, it gives some hope that things will get better
2. Second, it gives some reality that this first point may not be immediate and that things may actually get worse first but not to give up hope, and why not, if they do.

I know some things can be much worse than they are, I was just being sarcastic earlier. But hopefully they won”t get worse because things sure are bad enough!

Anyhow, a useful and famous saying in many regards. I hope it gets better!

- Carl Jung

A quick comment:

Some say this is just an excuse for an idealist to reconcile the reality of difficulties and come to grips with it, all the while still being able to rationalize staying an idealist.

But before the realist goes too far, the realist should realize this quote is mainly for him or her to come to grips with their own reality.  This is because if we never had it difficult, how would we know the measure of things, what difficulty versus prosperity is?

How would someone who rose like a phoenix from the ashes know they rose from the ashes to new and soaring height, and then be thankful?  Let’s go a step further…difficulties not only make us thankful and grateful but they also allow us to become stronger and better people than we thought we were.

The condition is that we rise above the difficulty and keep on moving forward in a positive direction.

The way this is necessary for our health is mainly mental health…it’s a sanity check to remind us of what we must be thankful for and content with, and that we don’t ever forget where we came from ad what we have.  The moment we lose this, along comes the next difficulty to remind us.

What to do with this quote:

Keep a constant attitude of gratitude and contentment.  Yet I already hear someone asking, “but how do you reconcile this with strong and ambition?”

I ask this because I myself have had and still do often have this very dilemma.

But one day I finally figured out that ambition for the right reasons and at a reasonable pace with careful self control can be an ally, as long as one keeps an attitude of contentment nonetheless, every step of the way, and is able to lose it all and say “oh well, that’s the way it goes sometimes” and still be thankful without regret.

If you can at any time lose all material possessions but still be thankful you have life, liberty, freedom, family, friends and your health, even just one of these, then you have something more precious than all the things you had.