To Conquer Life’s Challenges, This Is What It Takes

To be alive is to grow, is to cry, is to laugh. Being alive means you will face challenges. As a result of those challenges we grow, we feel pain and we are uplifted with a sweet sensation when we are victorious over them. “No pain, No gain”, that’s life. Life’s challenges are not always present, its a fluctuation between good and bad. We need the good happy phases to distinguish from the ones that take us to that new level. Although, we know in life we will have struggles, it does little to sooth us when we are facing them. We are overwhelmed with emotion, oftentimes not knowing how to proceed. We make wrong choices that only prolong the journey. 

When life’s challenges, you have no option but to take it. Nothing else will make you happy. You will always see it and look back. The author Paulo Coelho from the Alchemist says, “When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back.” 

In reality, you cannot escape challenges. To conquer life’s challenges, what do you do? You develop a mindset, a winners mindset to overcome them. Specifically, you were placed in that situation because it’s part of your mission to reveal sparks of light. The challenge was given to you to grow. It is through that resistance that you develop the strength to reach higher levels. 

Winning Mindset

In Parsha Vayigash, Joseph illustrates the winning mindset. Thus, Joseph became the viceroy of Egypt because his mindset allowed him to develop the strength and see himself to his true potential. A savior to his people, the people of Egypt and his family. 

“I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. But now do not be sad, and let it not trouble you that you sold me here, for it was to preserve life that God sent me before you.”

We are familiar with the story of Joseph. Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers; They were envious of him. Joseph was separated from his family at the age of 17. He was put in prison not long after he got to Egypt for defiling his master’s wife. A false accusation. Anyone having experienced this trauma, would be torn to pieces. If you face these many challenges and not deal with healing the pain properly, you could resort to depression, addiction, or a numbness to life. 

Joseph’s strength lies in the way he saw himself in this journey. He didn’t deal with the after effects of the pain. Not that he didn’t feel any. We know this is the one character in the Torah that cries the most, 9 times he is said to cry over his travails. 

Joseph adopted a mindset of purpose. He saw purpose in his pain. He was experiencing all that he did so that he would be brought to a place he would have on his own. His pain had a mission. Joseph had a mission to accomplish. Although, he didn’t know yet what that would be, he knew it was all for a purpose. 

You Are Part Of The Mission

Joseph’s challenges made him strong, and courageous. Because of the circumstances, Joseph developed skills he needed to. Prophecy might have been an innate talent but he was put in a place to use them. When Joseph says, “God sent me before you”, he acknowledges he was part of a divine mission. 

The most powerful message of Vayigash is: we are sent on a mission. Our life’s struggles are to serve that mission. In order to conquer life’s challenges we look to Joseph and say, G-d sent me here. We might not know why we face those challenges but in retrospect we will see the why.