Discuss "Our toughest struggles in life can be within ourselves"?

Answer 1

Our own decisions are really the point of contact for what we are doing. We can be influenced by external things, but never as intimately as we are by our own thoughts and feelings. So where the real decisions are being made is within ourselves. I think this is the general reason that the real struggles occur within.

Answer 2

"Our two minds .... One is an act of the emotional
mind, the other of the rational mind. In a very
real sense we have two minds, one that thinks and
one that feels" (Daniel Goleman, Emotional
Intelligence, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 1996,
page 8). This rational mind is also called the
faculty of logic and reason.

The Upanishads say that these two are opposite in
nature. Emotions appear irrational. Rationality
seems to lack emotions. Modern psychologist also
have observed it, but they are not very sure about
it:

"At the same time, reason sometimes clearly seems
to come into conflict with some desires (even
while not being in conflict with others) giving us
the impression that reason is separate from
emotion".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reason

Perons in who the co-ordination between the two minds
is not good, it gives rise to the toughest struggles.

Answer 3

A child is different than an adult, and the difference is not merely age.

We learn from experience, but to digest the experience takes an effort that not everybody is willing to make. Such fact explains the difference in maturity(?) between individuals of otherwise the same condition. People I call mental adults never stop learning. For such change, heroics are not required, but a low, steady effort. It is very tempting to evade the effort. In a way, it is like dieting. Everybody understands the benefits, not many are willing to spend the effort.

As for myself, I am a better person than I was ten years ago, and expect to improve with time. I am not special, not heroic. Only somebody who realizes that these small efforts pay off in the long run.

Answer 4

I would prefer to approach the question from the other side. The solution to all of life's problems comes when the inner treasure of eternal life is discovered within ourselves.

And that treasure has always been there waiting to be discovered.

Answer 5

ALL my struggles were caused by external circumstances AND my ability to deal with them. I've had some painful (for me) periods in my life BUT I have always managed to land on my feet although whilst I'm in a struggle I often forget that everything changes and I will survive and the fact it is my attitude that I can change if it isn't the circumstances. The Serenity Prayer (without the 'god' bit) has helped me focus. Accept the things I can't change. Change the things I can. Other things that have helped me focus Don't panic. This too shall pass. BUT if I look back over my life, and the people I've known, I see that I have been extraordinarily fortunate is so many ways. How much my attitude counted towards that I'm not sure. In the final analysis, it hardly matters. ~

Answer 6

Isn't this from the British Columbia Provincial exam?