Zeki Egeli | Reflections on Life

Thoughts, memories, observations, reflections on past and current experiences.

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  • Keep shining through all of life’s hardships.

    Thats the only way!

    Life is hard, and it always will be. Challenges will come, and they will never cease to come. So the question is: Am I living a good life regardless of all the challenges, or am I a weak man who succumbs to every challenge and lives in misery?

    Your quality of life and happiness depend on how well you can stay positive and keep your vibes up in the face of adversity. You are here for a short time, and life is what you make of it. See the image below:

    Assume two people face many adversities in life. One of them (on top) has learned to control his emotions, mind, and vibes, and can manage to stay positive even during adversity. From now until death, he will have a life that is well lived.

    The other, however, will face the same adversity, but because he is constantly reacting rather than consciously controlling his mental state, he will live a miserable life.

    Two people, similar situations, two completely different life outcomes. One lived fully; the other lived in misery.

    Learn to let go, relax, practice detachment, control your mind and emotions, and understand that life is hard. It always has been, and it always will be. It’s your choice whether to live a good, happy life or a life of misery. Life is what you make of it.

    When you’re on your deathbed, are you going to look back and say, “Damn, life was hard, but I had a good go at it and lived fully!”? Or are you going to say, “Shit, life is over, and when I look back, all I see is misery, hurt, pain, and a life wasted dwelling in the hell of my own mind”?

    The choice is yours. Are you going to attach yourself to every hurdle that comes your way and dwell on it, or are you going to see these hurdles as normal challenges of life, adapt, solve the problems, let go, push forward, and live a happy life regardless?

  • Life is hard, now what?

    Life will always be hard!

    Shit happens all the time, and it will continue happening. It happens to everyone. Life is hard. Everyone is dealing with their own demons and many problems. You are not special for having constant challanges and struggles in life. Everyone you see on the street is dealing with issues big or small.

    Hardship unveils weak vs. strong men. Legends and heroes are the ones who succeed and grow against all adversity. A hero is the man who shines regardless of all adversity.

    A weak man (a loser) will bitch, blame, and give up when adversity shows up. A weak man pauses life when hit with hardship. He snoozes, loses progress. Goes under the covers and cries for mommy. A life that is 5 steps forward and 4 steps backward.

    A strong man is the man who pushes forward regardless of adversity. Knows that whatever is happening, life must go on. Bills need to be paid. Kids need to be fed, and although it’s hard and tough, he continues with life and his responsibilities.

    He does not bitch, complain, or pause, and he keeps pushing. Knows that in a life full of never-ending adversity, if he breaks every time something happens, he is fucked. The show must go on. He knows no one is coming to save him and hand him a good life.

    A lonely bird with a defective foot. An abondoned street dog with a broken foot. They still need to eat and survive. No one is coming to save them. They either die of hunger or, against all adversity (broken bones), they need to face the pain, face the world, face reality, process it, and continue their journey with the baggage life presented.

    This is the game of life. All life forms have to deal with adversity and challenges. Just like an abandoned street dog still needs to figure out how to feed itself and continue life while limping, you need to figure out how to push forward and continue your life with whatever baggage life has presented you.

    The question is, are you weak and break every time life throws something at you? Or are you a strong man who can assess the situation, solve problems, adapt, move forward, and grow regardless of your situation? Just like a lion that loses an eye in a fight needs to overcome it, continue hunting, and survive in the wild, you need to process your challenge, feel it, and then push forward and continue living with your scars. That’s the rule of nature—the nature of the universe.

    How can I apply this to my life now?

    I have a torn knee. I cannot walk and have to use crutches. I need surgery and a lengthy recovery and therapy. Fine! Shit happened. Life threw a big hurdle my way. Am I gonna bitch and cry? Snooze? Lose progress? Take 3–4 steps backward? Or am I gonna make sure I continue living, growing, evolving, producing, and continuing life with minimal damage regardless of the circumstances?

    Life does not stop for you. The universe does not care what happened to you. Birds continue chirping, and the world continues ticking regardless of whether you pause everything. Every minute you stop, pause your life, stop progressing, and become depressed, life around you will continue moving forward regardless. So, in the end, you will only hurt yourself. You need a minute or two to adjust, yes. The question is, when adversity hits you, are you gonna take a couple of days to adjust and adapt, or lose months and years in your misery?

    In my case, knee fucked? That’s fine. Shit happened. I need to process the event, adjust, and keep living my life fully regardless of the injury, instead of sitting in misery and losing months of my life.