By Leland Pulley
A burden can be viewed as an obstacle in our way, a problem to solve, or a load to carry. Some examples are a health problem, poverty, loneliness, low self-image, unemployment, lawsuits, divorce, disobedient kids, lack of sufficient education, etc. You may lack good friends and a social support system. You could live in a bad area with little chance of getting out of it. This list could be much longer. It should demonstrate that burdens come in many ways.
Each of us experiences burdens as we walk down the road of life. Those burdens can vary in type and severity and length of time. The important thing is how well we deal with the burdens placed upon us.
In this article I do not want to stress burdens which you cannot help or are not your direct responsibility. The focus is on burdens which you can prevent or lighten in some way and ultimately remove from your life.
Think about the types of burdens that you can cause for yourself. Two examples are financial problems or some types of health issues. If you can cause something, in most cases you can also prevent or avoid that same thing. So, consider some of the things you consider as burdens in your life today. Why do you view them as burdens? How long have you had some of these burdens? Which ones seem to bother you the most and rob you of your time and energy or money?
It is common to have burdens in your life. This is the nature of our earthly existence. However, there are some things you can do to lighten your load. You can reduce the number of your burdens as well as their impact on your life.
The first advice I would give anyone is simply this. God has given us counsel and advice or commandments. His motive is not to restrict or limit us, as much as help us. When we choose to learn of these things and put them to use in our lives, we gain spiritual strength and avoid a lot of problems. There are less burdens on our backs, and we are stronger and more capable of carrying those loads required of us. Do not pass up the help which God wants to give you in dealing with the burdens that you face. For more information about this, study and apply True Religion in your life.
Next be humble enough to accept counsel and advice from other people. This is true especially for people who have more knowledge, experience, prospective, and wisdom then you. They can see the situation or circumstance better than you. By listening to them you can not only learn, but avoid many problems. You will still face challenges in life and have some problems, but why have more problems than you need to have? This is why it is so sad to see young people not listen to older people. Teenagers do not always listen to their parents. Young adults do not always listen to older adults. For these reasons, additional mistakes are made by the next generation for absolutely no reason whatsoever. This is sheer foolishness. It could be avoided with more humility and less pride.
One way people get into problems is that they react too quickly, judge hastily, and make decisions without sufficient knowledge and facts. More wrong conclusions are drawn this way and thus more errors creep into our lives and cause problems. If we had more patience, did more research, and gave ourselves more time before making decisions, there would be more good choices and less bad ones. Once again there are many things we can do to reduce burdens.
You can probably identify with the things listed above, as well as come up with some of your own answers for reducing the number of burdens in your life. Some recommendations are given in the paragraphs below.
Preventing or reducing burdens is the first thing. Some common solutions or preventions include monitoring and maintaining good health. Having good ethics. Setting realistic goals. Maintaining positive attitudes. Developing habits that work in your favor. Handling your finances wisely. Developing friends and having close relationships with family members. Getting and maintaining job training and skills. Being prepared for emergencies and unexpected events in your life.
Recognize your strengths and weaknesses. Be involved in activities and endeavors that utilize your strengths rather than bring out your weaknesses. This helps to maintain a reasonable level of confidence and a positive attitude.
When a burden is in your life, do not merely complain or think that life is unfair. This does not solve anything and creates more of a negative attitude on your part. Instead, try to figure out how to deal with the burden in the most effective manner. Be informed and aggressive. Evaluate and utilize the resources available to you. Look at each burden with a positive, not negative attitude. In this way your efforts in dealing with burdens will end up strengthening you rather than pulling you down. In other words, you can actually get many benefits or blessings out of adversity like burdens, when this adversity is handled properly. This is truly one of the purposes of this life. We are to experience both good and evil and learn to choose good over evil. The more we do this, the stronger and wiser we become and the more burdens we can carry.
Fortunately, we do not have to do everything ourselves. Seek out help from others who have experienced similar burdens or who know how to handle them. You can receive help or support from others in many ways. They can pray for you, visit you in the hospital, watch your children while you are away, help you with some of your bills, etc. Their encouragement, advice, and help can strengthen you and help you endure a heavy burden over a period of time until you either have it under control or out of your life.
It is important to recognize that burdens are part of life. Do not view them in any other way. However, the wise person will seek to reduce his burdens, and generally the foolish person will end up with more burdens. Individuals handling their burdens produces a social statistic that is very real. When more people have more burdens in a society, then you know that you are going to end up with more social problems. This indicates that people are not running their lives effectively enough. They are not making the best choices. They are not using their resources wisely. They are not considering others as well as themselves. Such things contribute to alcohol and drug problems, sexual immorality, theft, abuse, etc. Ultimately, the solution lies in helping each individual pull himself up and learn to deal with burdens better. Over time he will be able to face life with a more positive attitude and from a stronger personal position. In other words, a person can go down and eventually get back up. And the same thing can happen with any society.
Review what you consider to be burdens in your life. These could be things that are problems for which you do not have easy answers. They could be obstacles which you are not able to remove. They could be disappointments and failure and shattered dreams which have sapped you of energy and hope and enthusiasm. It is unrealistic to think that tomorrow you can resolve all your burdens or remove them quickly. But what you can do is try to find common causes of burdens. This will help you to understand your burdens better and find effective ways of dealing with them. Then select one or two burdens to work on first. As you achieve some success in reducing these burdens, you can move on to another one or two burdens. This will help to lighten your load in life and you will be more capable of dealing with any new burdens that come in the future.
I challenge you to view burdens both as a natural consequence of this earth life, as well as the opportunity to strengthening yourself by overcoming them. Put a cheerful mind and heart into this endeavor and you will be more successful. Life will be more enjoyable along the way too.
Key Words – burdens, God, True Religion, humble, counsel, advice, judge hastily, patience, preventing or reducing burdens, strengths and weaknesses, attitude, benefits or blessings, good and evil, help from others, social problems, problems, obstacles, disappointments, failure, common causes of burdens
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