Life is like an adventurous video game. Every new level has a new devil. As you progress, the tendency for you to retrogress becomes even higher. There are tougher battles to win. There are weightier puzzles to unravel. No new level ever comes with the same headaches. As long as we have life, fighting battles will be a daily thing. Inasmuch as we have breath, warding off attacks will be a thing we cannot ever put a stop to.
We will attract enemies with our successes. We will attract competitors who will do anything within their power to bring us down. Every new level in this life has its own demons!
In life, I’ve learned that progress often brings new challenges. If you keep fighting the same battles, it means you haven’t moved forward. For instance, if a married couple is still dealing with the same issues on their tenth anniversary as they did on their first, it means their relationship hasn’t grown. It’s important to recognize and overcome new obstacles to continue to progress and evolve.
Growth comes with the experience of fighting off new devils. The battles of a toddler are not the same as those of a teen. The devils that haunt a teen, believe me, are nothing compared to those of a retiree. Every stage in life has its own headaches. The higher the stage, the weightier the headache.
As we grow older, our priorities change. While as children we used to argue over the possession of a football, as adults we have more pressing issues to consider. It is important that we focus on these challenges and not waste time on trivial matters. Let us not continue to argue over possession of a football, as it is no longer a priority. The challenges we face as adults are far more daunting than those of our childhood.
It does not make sense to keep fighting the same petty issues, like football, over and over again in our lives. When we still keep worrying our heads over the same people from time to time, it is obvious we are stagnant; we have willingly refused to move on to a new level.
Anytime the raging storms of your life intensify, convince yourself that a new level is approaching. When unexpected disappointments start trickling in, know that you are being ushered into a new place in this life already. When people start hurling verbal attacks at you at the slightest opportunity, unlike before, be convinced that every new level demands a new devil.
To be at the top, you need sense to take nonsense. You need to have a thick skin to repel any abuse of any sort. The top is not for the faint-hearted. If you want to climb to a new level in life, you need to have a big heart that can contain everything, even nonsense! In this life, the kind of battles you fight often tell where you are. Your challenges tell how far you have come and how far you can go.
The challenges of a fresh graduate and another who’s had a successful twenty-year career, for instance, are not the same. The devils the former is yet to fight, the latter has fought all and, at least, conquered.
Growth requires a change in environment and, thus, a change in attacks or battles. Having to come head-on with the same problems year after year means you are still stuck in the same environment; same level.
It simply means you are not advancing from one level to the other. New levels should attract new devils!
Every new environment brings on new challenges. Fighting the same people all your life is a sign of stagnancy. Growth comes when we conquer new headaches.
We grow when we face our new devils head-on and overcome them. When we fear new challenges, we can’t grow. And where there’s no growth, there’s no change in the environment. When starting a business, for instance, your battles are few― mainly financial. As the business grows, however, the intensity of battles increases.
Your employees begin to fight you for better conditions of service and salary adjustments. Your competitors hurl propaganda at you. You fight lawsuits here and there. The media will trumpet your losses and whistle your achievements. The fact is, your battles become weightier!
It is the same with relationships and marriages. The romance seems to wane with time. Weightier challenges set in. Children come with their own troubles. Utilities haunt you as external family affairs chase you. Life becomes almost unbearable. However, take note that it is a whole new enviable level. A responsible married man is at that new level!
Gird your loins. Life is not going to become any easier, especially if you want to progress. Every advancement comes with its own headaches. Every new level is accompanied by its own devil. If you really want to progress in this life, the fact is, prepare for battle. Prepare for attacks from all angles; spiritual, physical and even emotional.
Leaving your job to go start yours will attract a new devil. Leaving singlehood to marry will come with its attendant headaches. Every attempt of progression will come with its attendant retrogression. However, when the battles come, don’t fret. Smile and say, “Welcome new level.” Do you want to know whether you are growing up? Take a look at the battles you are fighting… whether it’s still about ‘Case 5’ football or something weightier. Take pride in the battles you fight; the challenges you need to overcome.
