Life isn’t easy. Every day we have to deal with so-called problems. Let’s see here how the 3T Path gives you all the tools and knowledge you need to diminish and even overcome life’s problems.
Watch my video on this topic here.
This power comes from the fact that you’ll be dealing with life’s ups and downs from the inside out. You have very little power to change the outside facts of life, but you can develop total and complete power to change the inside – how you deal with life. Taking control of your life from the inside out is the focus and secret of the entire path of yoga and the key to overcoming or at least lessening your suffering.
What Problem?
Actually, there are no problems. Think about it: what you call a problem is when something happened that you didn’t expect or desire. Where was this expectation and desire? In the future. Was it realistic? Apparently not. It was a fantasy. This is at the core of the 3T Path: changing from the fantasy paradigm to the life paradigm. Live life as it is, here and now.
And what you have here and now are challenges: from the smallest, like getting out of bed, taking a shower, and meditating for a while; to larger ones, like dealing with a difficult client or fighting off a bad cold; to epic ones, like dealing with a great loss or the death of a loved one. But that’s life: a series of challenges, right from the beginning. You had the challenge of dealing with birth, of learning to crawl, of needing sleep and motherly comfort. And it never stopped: first day of school, sharing your toys, sports, school, puberty, social life . . . non-stop challenges. This is just the way life is.
What you call a problem is just another challenge – life happening, as it always happens. There are no problems, just reality. And if it is different from what you expected or wanted, you can see how wrong you were in having expectations and undue attachments, living in the future instead of the present. What you call a problem has at the very least the benefit of bringing you back to the here and now and making you focus on your action and being yourself, exercising your wisdom and devotion.
Accept, Be Thankful, Trust, and Make It an Offering
You can prepare yourself to deal with any challenge with a four-step process: 1) accept, 2) be thankful, 3) trust, and 4) make it an offering.
First comes the hardest step: accepting the challenge. Embrace it. You won’t make any progress until you do.
The worst thing you can do is lament. Only victims lament. Don’t pity yourself; don’t complain. Don’t grumble about how unjust the world is, how you think God has abandoned you, or how evil someone is. Don’t waste your precious time with this. Nothing good will come of it. Even if you are dealing with the most epic challenge, it still doesn’t help for you to lament and wallow in sadness and depression.
Once you’ve overcome lamentation and have accepted the challenge, next comes gratitude. Remember, gratitude is a powerful tool; use it to deal with life’s challenges. Be thankful. This may seem strange at first, but it’s both effective and empowering. Be thankful that you have a chance to learn and grow. Be thankful something worse didn’t happen. Be thankful for being alive and in good consciousness to deal with whatever challenges you face. Most of all, be thankful for the challenge itself. If you study people’s lives, you’ll see that it’s the biggest, most epic challenges that lead people to greatness and success. Facing these challenges, you enter a zone of self-discovery and self-mastery that would otherwise be unattainable.
In a state of acceptance and gratitude, you can now lay your trust in God. If you haven’t yet worked on your devotion, you can trust in the universe or “providence.” Trust that what’s happening to you is exactly what you need, what is ultimately best for everyone involved. And trust reality; it means you well. There is a purpose to everything, and nothing happens by chance. There is a force of pure goodness controlling your destiny. Trust that this force is in action as it lays down the challenges for you to face.
Now you act. Action in dharma. This is a key point. The question that must be the basis of your action is: what is my duty? What response will give me the chance to show the very best of me? Based on who you are, where you are, and what you have, what’s the very best you can do? It’s all about your dharma, your essence. It’s not about what’s easier, more fun or what will impress others. It’s about doing the right thing, the one most aligned with who you truly are.
Lastly, make your response an offering. Don’t desire some future outcome. Don’t create undue attachments. Let it go. Do your best, here and now, from this point on. You’re not in it for the results. The primary focus is the act itself. Just do your best with what life has given you, one step at a time.
Now you’re ready to deal with anything that comes your way.
In the book, The 3T Path (https://3tentesting108.com/books/) you’ll find an entire section of the book with these and other tips for overcoming life’s obstacles.
Look what they’re saying about The 3T Path book: “A fantastic read!” – Mikey Serino