How to stay happy in the face of adversity

What are adversities? Adversities are problems and roadblocks that we face in life. These are challenges that every human being must face to lead a more fulfilling life, for unless we know and face an obstacle or a problem, we won’t appreciate a smooth ride in life. When we are faced with these adversities and problems, we feel that they are a never-ending abyss, but these are the tests that life throws at us.Just as exams are a temporary difficulty, problems and adversities are also a temporary phase in life. They come and go from time to time.
We have been taught that success is happiness, but we don’t realize that happiness is success, and a successful life is a life filled with happiness. So, how can one be happy even when faced with adversity? Problems and adversities should not be taken as stop signs; rather, they must be taken as guidelines to progress on the path of a successful life filled with happiness. We must not let problems defeat us; rather, we should strive hard to change the adverse conditions in our life. The first step towards solving adversity is to accept the problem and not protest it, and the next step is to find a solution to the problem at hand. Remember, adversity is not going to remain forever; therefore, one must learn how to face adversity through the ability to find the right solution to the problem.
When faced with problems, it is natural for people to move towards religion and God. People tend to ask God, “Why me?” They will also ask God to find a solution to all the problems and adversities in their life. While one must always pray to God, one must also understand that God will never come and solve the issues. Spirituality or a spiritual mindset is the key to understanding the problems in life and understanding, “Why are we facing such tough times?” The answer to this lies in the Law of Karma. Karma is a Universal Law that runs on the principle of, “As you sow, so shall you reap.” Anything and everything that happens in life – good or bad – is a result of our previous known or unknown actions or Karma. We all face circumstances in our life owing to the Karmic debt that we have. Thus, with a spiritual mindset and understanding Karma, one must accept problems in life without protesting them. It is a beautiful way to deal with adversities in life. Moreover, when we accept the problems in our life, half of the problems are solved because thereafter, we will spend our energy finding a viable solution to the problem, rather than crying and mulling over, “Why me?”
How can we find a solution to the problems? The right solution to the problems can be attained with the ability to discriminate the problems with Consciousness and with the power of the intellect. We human beings are constantly in a state of mind. The mind throws all kinds of negative thoughts at us like fear, worry, stress, anxiety, regret, shame, and guilt. Facing the adversities with a state of mind will only destroy us. We must stop the bombardment of negative thoughts of the mind by deliberately slowing down our Mental Thought Rate. On average, our mind hits us with about 50 thoughts in a minute, resulting in a whopping 50,000 thoughts in a day. But when we start observing our thoughts and slow down the Mental Thought Rate to bring it from 50 thoughts in a minute to 1 thought at a time, we reach a state of Thoughtlessness, Mindfulness, also called the Consciousness. In this state of Consciousness, our intellect shines, and we gain the power of discrimination. In a state of Consciousness, the mind and its toxic thoughts or NEP, Negative Energy Poison, are replaced with PEP or Positive Energy Power that leads to positive thoughts. Positive thoughts can replace negative thoughts by replacing negative emotions with positive emotions. When toxic emotions like fear, worry, stress, anxiety, pessimism, anger, hate, revenge, and jealousy fill our life, we are sure to be calling for negativity to rule us, but when we are able to replace negativity with positivity, consciously, we choose positive emotions like love, faith, hope, trust, courage, confidence, optimism, forgiveness, compassion, and kindness. These positive emotions become the raw material for positive thoughts that become feelings and actions.
The power of positive thinking
When there is positive thinking through positive emotions, we are able to face every adversity with courage and confidence and are able to replace the negative toxic thoughts and emotions that overwhelm us with positive thoughts, which will ultimately overcome every tragedy, challenge, and problem that we face. Concluding this discussion, we can say that if we want to stay happy even when faced with problems and adversities in life, we must move from a state of mind to a state of Consciousness, where our intellect and the power of discrimination are active. Then, we can calmly think of a proper solution to the problems. Thereafter, we must make a conscious effort to flip from NEP to PEP – from negative thoughts to positive thoughts. A combination of all these will ensure that we have the courage to face the adversity and be happy in those trying times too. Ultimately, we human beings want peace and happiness, and it is possible only in a state of Consciousness, when we use the power of our intellect. The intellect will lead to positive thinking and also calm the chaos that the mind would have created, thereby, helping to face the problems and find solutions too. Try to get into a state of Consciousness and flip from negative to positive thoughts and see that it will work!
By AiR - Atman in Ravi: Happiness Ambassador, Author, Spiritual Mentor and Philanthropist.