How to survive hopeless periods? || Acharya Prashant, with MMMUT (2023)
Questioner (Q): Sir, many times in life we go through such periods where we lose our hope, and there's absolutely no motivation and we feel very down. And no matter how much harder we try, nothing works out. So sir, how do you push yourself through these worst phases of life?
Acharya Prashant (AP): See, all such episodes come in a particular context. Correct? The context has to be of unrelenting struggle. So, I am trying for something and when I am trying for something, I find myself upon a lean patch—I am meeting failures, things are not working out, people are deserting me, plans are failing. Such things happen, right? And when such things happen, as you said, there's a certain lack of motivation, and de-energization. And one wants to still pull through those times.
What is it that one wants to remember then? What is it that one must always remember? The context. The bigger picture. And that is that I am trying for something very important, right? That I am trying for, is something that deserves to be remembered. Otherwise, why would one try for it? I am pushing towards something magnificent, something beautiful, something valuable and that's the reason I am pushing towards it. Right? Now, along the way I have met with these disappointments. Now what do I remember? The disappointments or the thing I am pushing towards?
If the thing that I am pushing towards is not valuable, then even the disappointment has no worth. The disappointment matters only when the thing that I am trying for is worthy enough, right? Now, what is more valuable—the thing you are trying for or the disappointment along the way? Remember that the disappointment is contingent upon, is dependent upon the value of the thing. So, the disappointment has to be smaller—the value of the disappointment has to be smaller than the value of your target. Correct? So, in the moment of disappointment, obviously disappointment will be on your mind. But what is it that you should remember more? Please answer.
